Todd Monken vowed to find answers for his struggling Cleveland Browns offense entering a marquee divisional home game against the Ravens last week. It was just hard for fans to see those adjustments as Watson and company mustered three first downs, five punts, and zero points in the first half.
The Browns were able to come alive in the second half — with Watson continuing a trend that’s been growing since the team’s frustrating loss to the New York Jets in East Rutherford.
Watson has been throwing the football down the field at a noticeably higher rate over Cleveland’s last two games. And while that hasn’t made the Browns’ offense more efficient, it has made it more explosive.
Deshaun Watson is finally pushing the ball downfield like the Browns envisioned
Per Pro Football Reference, Watson currently sits below league average in ADOT (average depth of target, whether the pass is completed or not) at 7.3 air yards per attempt. That ranks him among a group that includes Justin Herbert, Michael Penix, and Aaron Rodgers.
But Watson has been surging up this list. In Week 4, when the Browns grinded out a win over Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Watson had a low ADOT of 6.86 yards, which ranked among the bottom 10 quarterbacks for that particular week.
In Week 5, playing in steady rainfall against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, that number surged to 9.72.
That trend continued in Sunday’s big win over the Ravens, with Watson posting an ADOT of 8.7, ranking just outside the top 10 quarterbacks in that area.
Week 6 Target Depth Distribution
— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) October 19, 2026
(min. 15 attempts, pre-MNF)
Data: @FantasyPtsData pic.twitter.com/H2LUARYXjw
What does it all mean? The Browns are doing less dinking and dunking, and more attacking down the field in recent weeks.
Browns fans have been clamoring for this adjustment from their $230 million quarterback. In 2024, prior to his first Achilles injury, Watson averaged a career-low 4.1 air yards per completion. Watson’s ADOT was routinely in the 8.5 to 9.0 range over his first three seasons in Houston, but the Browns have never really gotten that version of the once-elite quarterback.
The Browns are seeing glimpses of the Deshaun Watson they thought they traded for
We may finally be getting glimpses of vintage Watson, as Monken has continued to put the ball in his hands and give him the freedom to create off-script. Per PFR, Watson is hanging in the pocket for an average of just 2.4 seconds per dropback this season, which would be the quickest bail rate of his career if it keeps up.
It all screams of a quarterback who hasn’t played a lot of football over the past two-plus years and is beginning to rediscover himself. Watson was more decisive and got the ball out quicker in the second half against Baltimore. The result was six completions of 12 yards or more, including a 33-yard explosive play to Jerry Jeudy on Cleveland’s game-winning drive in the final 2 minutes.
On balance, the Browns are still getting average-to-below-average quarterback play. Watson has been inconsistent at best, especially early in games. He’s taking way too many sacks — a league-leading 24. His four game-winning drives deserve to be celebrated, but that’s also impossible to depend on. As the end of the Jets loss showed, those situations can just as easily blow up and go the other way.
The numbers do, however, hint that adjustments are being made and some momentum could be building here. Browns fans have wanted the Watson experience to end, mostly due to the feeling of being duped from the start. This 2026 season deserves some pause on that front.
Watson might not be back. But it’s fair to say he’s making serious progress on delivering the kind of quarterback play fans have waited five years for.
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