3 losers (and 1 winner) for Browns in Week 5 loss to Commanders

Rookie QB Jayden Daniels completely dissected the Browns in the Commanders 34-13 rout in Week 5. Daniels looks like the runaway rookie of the year while the Browns look like the runaway worst offense in the league.

There was one winner in the loss, but more losers to choose from. Let's take a look at the three losers from the Week 5 loss and the team's one winner.

Loser: HC Kevin Stefanski

No matter how you slice it, Stefanski is going to be the scapegoat in addition to QB Deshaun Watson for how poorly this season has gone so far. Toss the accolades out the window and ignore the fact that Stefanski has proven he can work with struggling quarterbacks and make them better. Stefanski will be on the chopping block if he's unable to turn Watson and this offense around.

With this big loss, fans were wondering why the team wouldn't try to make a change at quarterback to see if that'd help with rhythm at all. Stefanski has been adamant since Sunday that he will not be considering a change at QB, and I honestly can't blame him. In reality, the issue is the O-line. It's unhealthy and in need of the return of 100 percent healthy tackles in Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin. Without them up front, this O-line has been porous to say the least - even allowing Washington's defenders to push RB Jerome Ford into Watson for a sack.

So, why would a change matter? Unfortunately for Stefanski, I think he's set up for failure regardless of what he does one game or many games down the road.

Loser: Deshaun Watson

Watson is statistically the worst quarterback in the league. He's averaging 4.8 yards per attempt this season, which is somehow worse than QB Bryce Young last season. His PFF grade is 63.1, and he put in a terrible performance versus the Commanders. Again, this O-line is partially to blame, but there were several times in the first half where Watson had time to make a play to Amari Cooper downfield or at least scramble for yards.

The Watson trade is going down as the worst trade the Browns have ever made, and the worst trade a team has ever made. Watson just looks like a shell of a football player - no confidence with a clean pocket, no arm strength, no legs.

Loser: Offensive line

The true negative of this team is the O-line. They can't block a feather. The Commanders pressured Watson heavily, and Watson's now been sacked 26 times this season alone. He's sacked 5.2 times per game, a league worst metric. And, without any substantial updates to the Browns injury report ahead of Week 6, we can expect to see more poor O-line protection moving forward.

This is bad for two reasons. One, no matter who Cleveland runs out under center moving forward, that player is going to have to be quick on his feet and with his decision making. That's not an easy task for most quarterbacks, and the Browns have no one elite waiting in the wings.

The second reason this is bad? RB Nick Chubb is set to make his 2024 debut soon, and he'll be faced with essentially no running holes to work with which can exacerbate his surgically repaired knee more than it needs to be. While his return could help open things up on offense in theory, in practice, we've seen how poorly Cleveland's decent running backs fare behind this O-line. With just 4.4 yards per carry, they aren't formidable.

Winner: David Njoku

Despite very limited playing time after reportedly re-injuring his knee, Njoku looked good out there in Week 5. He was a big target for Watson to look to for short gains early on in the game, and his performance was a good sign of how he can help impact the offense moving forward. An inspiring three targets for 14 yards unfortunately quelled because of a brand new injury outside of the ankle one he was already nursing.