NFL Winners and Losers: What would it take for the Browns to finally bench Deshaun Watson?

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, right, is tackled by Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The Washington Commanders are doing a lot of things well this season, but playing defense really hasn’t been one of them.

The Commanders were near the bottom of the NFL in most defensive categories through four weeks: 25th in points allowed, 26th in yards allowed, 30th in defensive DVOA, 31st in yards per play allowed and 32nd in EPA allowed per play.

And Deshaun Watson couldn’t do anything against that defense. When the Commanders took a 24-3 lead late in the second quarter, Watson’s line against one of the worst defenses in the NFL was 6 of 14 for 37 yards. And it actually looked even worse than that.

You’d think that at some point the Cleveland Browns would give up the idea that it’s smarter to cater to the feelings of a quarterback that has sunk their franchise than actually trying to win games, but it hasn’t happened yet. The Browns fell to 1-4 with an uncompetitive 34-13 loss to the Commanders. It’s worth wondering how bad Watson would have to be for the Browns to finally consider a quarterback change. Watson, who was taken out very late with the game completely out of reach, finished with 125 yards against one of the NFL’s worst defenses.

Watson is one of the NFL’s worst starting quarterbacks and has been for a while. It’s almost unheard of for a quarterback to be as good as Watson was with the Houston Texans and then become one of the NFL’s worst by the age of 30, but it has happened. And Browns coach Kevin Stefanski refuses to acknowledge it. The Browns have become an assembly line of excuses for Watson, trying to protect the quarterback from any criticism. And yes, the Browns have issues like offensive line injuries. But when a quarterback makes $230 million he has to overcome some obstacles. You can’t play like one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL week after week and expect to keep your job, unless you play for…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-06 20:33:23

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