How Deshaun Watson saved job with performance in Browns win at Bucs
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TAMPA, FLA. ― The question was going to be asked to Browns coach Todd Monken. It was unavoidable.
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Even on a day when Deshaun Watson played arguably his best game in an admittedly small sample size that has been his Browns career, the question was going to happen. So it was after the Browns' 23-19 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that it was asked.
Will Watson be the starting quarterback when the Browns play the Carolina Panthers Sept. 26?
"Really? Really?," Monken said after the game. "I'm going to enjoy this win. And I thought he played his a-- off. I'm so happy for him. I'm just going to leave it there, right? I mean, good for him. Good for 22 months of working his (just pauses) off to get to where he's at. I'm going to leave it at that. I'm so happy for him."
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The Browns had their backs against the wall after a disappointing season-opening loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watson, though, may have had his back through the wal.
There was ample speculation throughout the week that a change in quarterback was coming after the Bucs game, assuming Watson didn't play well and the Browns lost. Except that, neither the Browns loss, nor did Watson play poorly.
Watson was 24-of-30 for 238 yards and a 121.9 passer rating. He threw a pair of second-half touchdowns: 55 yards to Denzel Boston in the third quarter to tie it at 16-16, and 17 yards to Blake Whiteheart on a screen pass with 3:51 renmaining for the 23-19 lead.
"Man, honestly, I'm just happy with this win," Watson said. "So right now I'm focused on right now and enjoying this win with my teammates. And honestly, I'm ready to go see my family. So that's all I'm focused on."
Watson had a large contingent of family and friends, including his wife Jilly, waiting for him some 20 feet away from the podium. He was swarmed by them the second he got to them.
The win had been a long time coming, dating back to Week 2 of the 2024 season. That came in an 18-13 win at Jacksonville.
Watson's started six game in between those two wins in Florida, part of what has been a 21-start career with the Browns. That's in a span of four-plus seasons since they acquired him from the Houston Texans in 2022, with time loss to suspension (11 games in 2022), shoulder injury (11 games in 2023) and, most recently, Achilles tears (27 games between 2024-25).
"It's a lot," Boston said. "He comes in every day and just puts his head down and works and, you know, whether that's extra meetings or whether that's us just talking after practice, getting extra reps, making sure that, you know, we're hitting everything that either we missed on in practice or we feel like we need to hit some more. So, you know, it's great that everything came together today."
Watson's first time out came after a 693-day hiatus because of that Achilles tear, which happened in Week 7 of the 2024 season. A week later, the 16-of-22, 205-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception performance in Jacksonville was a mere tune-up for what was coming on the opposite side of Florida a week later.
Monken said when he stood by Watson following the Jacksonville game he saw good things to build off with the quarterback. The second half Watson had in Tampa should be the latest building block for the quarterback, as he went 18-of-22 for 189 yards with the two scores thrown.
"It was good," Watson said. "Just making plays. Telling Monk at halftime just to trust me with the ball in my hands and let me just go out there and just operate, and let him just scheme up, call the plays and I'm going to trust his mindset and let's go execute."
Through two games, Watson's second-half numbers come out to 26-of-31 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. In both games, he's had a stretch of completing at least five in a row, and had six in a row on the Browns' first third-quarter drive .
That stretch was broken when Boston couldn't get a second foot down inbounds in the end zone on a fade route. The Browns had to settle for a 34-yard Andre Szmyt field goal to get within 16-9, one of three field goals by Szmyt.
Boston, though, made up for it on the next drive with the 55-yarder touchdown. That would start a stretch where Watson completed 10 out of 12 passes, two of which went for scores.
"I mean, he played his rear end off in the second half and he's doing it really without us running the ball very well, which we certainly are going to do better there," Monken said. "… I'm very happy for Deshaun and I'm happy for us and the team, for him to … There's nothing like a locker room after a win. I don't care. There's no drug, alcohol, nothing that makes you feel like when you win as a team."
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How Deshaun Watson saved job with performance in Browns win at Bucs
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