AFC North QB power rankings: Deshaun Watson continues to struggle

The Cleveland Browns are 1-3 and let a winnable game slip out of their hands on Sunday, falling 20-16 to the Las Vegas Raiders. What once seemed like a promising season on the horizon for the Browns now feels like a lost cause and Deshaun Watson has been a big reason why the team has struggled through the first quarter of the season.

Fortunately, the rest of the division hasn't looked like the gauntlet that the AFC North normally is. The Pittsburgh Steelers just dropped their first game of the season and are now 3-1 but look beatable, the Baltimore Ravens climbed out of an 0-2 hole to sit at 2-2, and the Cincinnati Bengals started 0-3 and just recorded their first win of the year so they're now 1-3 along with Cleveland.

With four games in the books, let's rank the four starting quarterbacks in the AFC North from worst to first.

4. Deshaun Watson

The only possible candidate for last place in the division when it comes to quarterbacks is Deshaun Watson. The guy has been atrocious for the Browns since joining them in 2022 and by now you know how much the team gave up (and then paid him) to bring Watson to Cleveland.

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Through four games, Watson has thrown for 727 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions while rushing for 117 yards and another score with his legs. It's true that the offensive line has done Watson little favors early in the season but that wasn't an excuse for him in the previous years and he still struggled.

If there's a silver lining it's that Watson can't really play much worse than he has through the first 16 games of his Browns tenure. He's also well aware that he's not playing well and is taking responsibility for the most recent loss, so that's something, I guess. We'll see if he can crawl his way out of the bottom spot here.

3. Justin Fields

The Steelers were one of the most surprising teams through the first few weeks of the season but finally dropped their first game, losing 27-24 to the Colts. Originally, it was supposed to be Russell Wilson leading the charge for the Steelers offense but an injury sidelined him for the season opener, pushing Justin Fields into the role and he's done a nice job.

Through four games, the former Bears quarterback has thrown for 830 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while adding 145 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The Steelers defense was definitely the star for the first three weeks but after they had a down week against the Colts, Fields and the offense stepped up.

Fields might be a little higher than third in some divisions but there's no way I can put him higher than the three-spot in the AFC North considering who's ahead of him.

2. Joe Burrow

It was really tough determining who goes where in the top two spots but ultimately, I put Joe Burrow second. Burrow and the Bengals got off to a brutal start, losing their first three games to sit at 0-3 on the year. Even after getting their first win in Week 4 against the Panthers, it didn't feel like things were better for Cincinnati.

The good news for them is that Burrow has played well in the past three games. He's thrown for 978 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception while rushing for 38 yards. Better news for Bengals fans is that Burrow has only been sacked eight times, which feels like a very small number for him considering how bad his offensive line typically is.

The reason Burrow is in the two-spot here is that while he's playing well, his team is 1-3 and doesn't look to be the threatening squad many thought they'd be in 2024. I used the records of the top two quarterbacks' teams as the tiebreaker so Burrow is on the losing end of yet another competition.

1. Lamar Jackson

It was pretty shocking to see Lamar Jackson and the Ravens get off to an 0-2 start, especially since both of those losses came down to the bitter end. Unfortunately for Browns fans, the Ravens righted the ship and knocked off two quality opponents in back-to-back weeks to get back to .500.

Jackson's thrown for 858 yards, five touchdowns, and one pick while dashing for 308 yards and two scores on the ground. The Ravens quarterback hasn't been as strong of a passer as Burrow has through the first four games but his running skills have helped his team crawl out of an 0-2 hole.

The reigning MVP looks like the same player who dominated the league a season ago but Baltimore's schedule continues to be brutal. They'll head to Cincinnati play the Bengals next week, then return home to face the suddenly terrifying Commanders, and hit the road again to play the Buccaneers. Any wins the Ravens get in that stretch will have been strongly earned.

Ranking the quarterbacks in the division really was only hard when picking between Burrow and Jackson. Watson has played so poorly since arriving to Cleveland over two years ago and it doesn't feel like the Browns can justify benching him given how much they're paying the guy. Maybe he'll figure it out and start to perform better because that's the Browns' only hope right now.