3 Cleveland Browns to watch in Week 14 battle against Bengals
By John Suchan
Cleveland Browns – No. 2: Deshaun Watson
The most watched Browns quarterback of recent memory got off to the expected rough start last Sunday in the game against the Houston Texans. Having not played a meaningful game in 700 days can do that to you. But his team stepped up and played well around him which led to the victory.
There were glimmers of what we might see on a more regular basis. Watson’s ability to elude the defender or glide by the opponent on a designed run are all things that will separate him from your average quarterback. Watson was never able to get into a groove last week. With another week of practice, and more time working with his teammates hopefully will continue to help him shake off the poor play we saw in his return.
His main wide receiver Amari Cooper caught a few of the quarterback’s passes. He was the target on the errant throw into the endzone that resulted in a first-half interception by Watson. As these two individuals work together more, they could become an unstoppable duo moving forward.
The Browns coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t exactly open up the playbook that much last week. Watson has a good arm that can throw passes the distance but there weren’t any play-action throws to really try and stretch the field yet in this first game. We should expect to see Stefanski call a play or two in this big game against the Bengals to keep them honest defensively.
As Watson continues to build on this season’s experiences and get back into the swing of things, his talents could give the Browns a great advantage over most teams in the league.