Cleveland Browns studs and duds: Deshaun Watson fumbles away the win in Week 2
• This 'elite' OL is anything but elite
• Deshaun Watson cost the Browns the game
By Randy Gurzi
![Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2724,h_1532,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/56/01hans1v0vaed6ndg7zs.jpg)
Browns Dud: Deshaun Watson, QB
For six games in 2022, Deshaun Watson was bad but we made excuses. He was out of the game for 700 days, so naturally, there would be rust.
Then in Week 1, the Browns beat the Bengals and Watson wasn't great at all. But the excuses flowed again. This time, it was the bad weather — but he would be better in Week 2 when the skies were clear.
Well, that didn't happen.
On Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Watson was a mess. He was just 22-of-40 with 235 yards and a touchdown. He also had two lost fumbles and a pick. He nearly had a second pick as well when he forced a deep ball to Marquise Goodwin.
Making matters worse, his second fumble cost the Browns the game as a 22-19 lead became a 26-22 deficit when T.J. Watt scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
Watson also had two inexcusible facemask penalties and probably should have been ejected when he shoved a ref after one of those.
Deshaun Watson shoves an official. Per the NFL rule, it’s supposed to be an automatic ejectionpic.twitter.com/XEJy7eCADh
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 19, 2023
At this point, it's tough to defend Watson. His play has been erratic and his decisions on the field have been awful.
To make matters worse, Nick Chubb is going to miss the season so they won't even have their dominant ground game to help bail him out when he's struggling.
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