Justified or not, Deshaun Watson took the blame for the Cleveland Browns’ second-straight loss Sunday, falling 20-16 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Did Watson play perfectly? Not by any means. He could have looked better though. And at the end of the day, somebody has to take the blame for the loss and Watson decided to be the fall guy.
According to an AP story, Watson said it’s his job to quarterback the offense and they aren’t doing enough to get the job done. He added that responsibility falls on him. That said, he may be taking credit to protect the team like good leaders should.
Through four games Watson hasn’t recorded a 200-plus yard passing game yet, though he’s gotten close. He’s thrown a touchdown in every game except the Browns’ only win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The problems of the Browns offense stem from far more than how Watson has looked through four games this season.
The Cleveland Browns inability to run is hurting them
You can point fingers at multiple reasons why the Browns offense hasn’t looked like it did a year ago. Injuries throughout the entire offensive unit is probably the biggest reason.
But until the Browns can find a way to get the run game going, it will continue to struggle offensively.
Cleveland is one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL this season and with the play of the offensive line, that’s not a shock. The Browns have 379 total rushing yards and averaging just 95 rushing yards per game.
Watson has the second most rushing yards on the team with 117 yards. Jerome Ford has just 203 yards. Both have just one rushing touchdown.
Kevin Stefanski and the offensive coaching staff have to find a way to diversify the offense, even with the limitations of the offensive line.
Deshaun Watson needs to run the ball
According to a story on NFL.com ahead of the Browns’ game against the Raiders, Watson said, “I’m not a running quarterback, in a sense. I can make things happen, but I'm not trying to run.”
That’s simply not true.
During his best three seasons in Houston, he had over 400 rushing yards in each of those seasons. Yes, Watson has been injury prone during his stint with Cleveland. He also spent the better part of the last one-and-a-half seasons in Cleveland knocking off rust, having not played in two years.
When Cleveland made Watson, at the time, the highest paid player per guaranteed money in the NFL, they did it knowing how lethal he was as a dual-threat. All Cleveland is getting is a sub-par passer.
Watson has a lot to prove because his tenure in Cleveland has been nothing short of embarrassing for what was expected of him.
So right now, he doesn’t have the option to say he “no longer wants to run.” He also doesn’t have to be Lamar Jackson either.
He just has to pose the threat of being a runner and maybe that slight hesitation on the defense can help reignite a dying Browns offense.