Slow starts have been an issue over the first six weeks of the regular season for the Cleveland Browns. They are giving up points early in games, and it takes them a while to get going on offense.
They're winning, but that's not a winning formula.
Notably, a lot of that has fallen on Deshaun Watson, and it may have reached a new low in Week 6. The veteran quarterback completed 3 of 9 passes for 24 yards in the first half before completing 13 of 17 for 140 yards in the second.
When asked about any in-game adjustments, Watson admitted that it was all about getting the ball out quickly. Hopefully, he'll use that blueprint for the remainder of the season, as this has been a recurring concern with him:
“Really just for me, just to try to get the ball out. Don’t try to read what they’re disguising and rotating and rolling different coverages,” Watson said.
Browns can't keep waiting 45 minutes for the best version of Deshaun Watson
To his credit, Watson has been money in the fourth quarter this season. From that deep touchdown to Denzel Boston with the game out of reach in Week 1 to his four game-winning drives, he's delivered in the clutch. He nearly pulled it off in the loss to the New York Jets, too, until a special teams blunder helped turn a fourth-quarter lead into a deficit.
That said, the Browns can't bank on late-game heroics every week. Maybe Todd Monken needs to do a better job of getting Watson going with some easy completions at the start of games.
Watson is playing his best football since he arrived in Northeast Ohio, but it's not like the bar was particularly high. He must do a better job of getting the ball out fast, especially when blitzed, as he has a tendency to roll out and try to make a play with his legs before his guys can even finish their routes.
Also, fixing the running game could help Watson get going. Players like Jaleel McLaughlin, Raheim Sanders, and even the recently signed Audric Estime have given the Browns some added production. Running virtually every play out of the shotgun certainly doesn't help.
The Browns are hard to read right now. Objectively, they haven't been a good offensive team by any means this season, but they have still found ways to win games. Whether that's sustainable remains to be seen, but it feels like the sky could be the limit for this team if the quarterback could give them something — anything — in the first 45 minutes of a game.
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