LANDOVER, Md. — It’s the first week of October and the Browns’ season ended before the Guardians’ season.
In 1-4, this is it. It feels like it’s over long before the leaves turn, before the bye week, before the pumpkins are carved, before the NBA season begins and the Guardians’ baseball fate is decided.
Even by the Browns’ standards, this is too early for an obituary.
But this is where they found rest. A bad team was buried 34-13 in a bad stadium 12 miles from the capital.
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There’s fire everywhere and there’s not enough hose to get around. The defense is a mess. The offense is completely broken, with no identity or concept of how to move the ball effectively in this new, out-of-manned scheme.
The Browns didn’t even line up properly on either side of the ball. This is a first-degree coaching felony. Flagged. double With too many players on the field playing defense and too many players in the huddle on the same drive, the offense was unable to make a second-and-goal. They should have taken the penalty kick and kicked a field goal instead. That’s coaching.
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In particular, they did not play good defense on the right side of the offensive line. Dawand Jones hasn’t been good at right tackle all year, and Wyatt Teller has picked up some bad minutes of the schedule due to a knee injury.
Rookie Zak Zinter could end up being a very good guard in the NFL, but right now he’s a rookie who’s going to be surrounded by outstanding NFC East defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence of the Giants, Daron Payne of the Commanders, and next week, outstanding NFC East defensive tackles. Jalen Carter of the Eagles.
All of that is important context. It’s not just one player.
But something has to change. I can’t endure another three months like this. Otherwise no one will survive.
It’s time. It’s time to end the Deshaun Watson disaster. Those are the only words that describe every part of this deal. The trade that brought him to Cleveland was a complete failure. That contract was an albatross that put pressure on a franchise that was losing oxygen.
To be clear, Watson isn’t the only problem with this team. But he’s certainly not the solution either. There is now enough evidence.
Watson was a mess against the Washington Commanders. Was 15-of-28 for 125 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked seven more times and the offense didn’t get a third down until the fourth quarter.
Stefanksi is not happy with Watson.
Thank goodness for him covering his mouth… All things considered, I handled it pretty well. pic.twitter.com/1lLZJYokIX
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 6, 2024
In a league of 32 quarterbacks, he ranks 33rd in passing EPA (expected points added) per dropback. He ranks 28th in passer rating. He has been sacked a league-leading 26 times, nine more than any other quarterback.
Even when he had time on Sunday, he left clean pockets. Jerry Jeudy dropped a touchdown in the end zone, even though the game was already decided at that point. I’m trying to be reasonable yet realistic.
A franchise quarterback will help the offense and help the team overcome some of these obstacles.
Watson is making things worse.
He is not assisting in this crime. He doesn’t help this football team.
Of course, Kevin Stefanski isn’t ready to have this conversation yet.
“We don’t change quarterbacks,” Stefanski said after the game.
Even if he wanted to, how could he not at this point? — Ownership won’t allow it. The Haslams are still pumping water from the SS Watson and rowing furiously to try to get it to the bottom of the sea.
We’re almost there.
When Joe Flacco revitalized the team last year, it showed what Stefanski’s offense could look like with a legitimate quarterback. Instead of using this as a blueprint to show Watson how good Stefanski’s offense could look when run correctly, he ran the offense and offensive coordinator instead. They broke something that didn’t need to be fixed to appease the quarterback.
The offense is now averaging 3.8 yards per play through five games, the worst for any NFL offense since 2018, according to Stathead. This offense is hovering near the 1999 expansion Browns (3.65). It’s worse than bad. It’s really unfortunate.
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It’s not all Watson’s fault, but he’s the reason they’re running a system that doesn’t work for any of their quality players, and it’s why Stefanski clearly makes Cole uncomfortable. I wrote a few weeks ago about how the Browns have some of the slowest receivers in the league who struggle to create separation. That doesn’t mean you can’t win with them, but it certainly means you can’t win if you play with them. this.
Watson was infected with the franchise with no known cure. They can’t cut him out. They can’t trade him. They bench him and refuse to cash his checks anonymously. So they’ll keep him out on Sunday while the rest of the body dies.
The fact that this all happened against the Commanders’ rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was a bit ironic. Daniels plays exactly like the quarterback the Browns thought they got in Watson. Daniels was ready, and he slipped away from the pressure. He can come out of the pocket and throw a dime down the field, like he did with a beautiful 66-yard strike to Terry McLaurin in the first quarter.
Daniels elevated a hopeless franchise. He covered up the sin of poor defense. The Commanders have already matched last year’s win total as their quarterback is playing at an elite level. That’s what good people can do.
The Browns don’t have any good people. They are infected. And the body is slowly dying.
(Deshaun Watson Photo: Timothy Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
