The Cleveland Browns didn’t get the results they wanted during their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Deshaun Watson made his first appearance for the Browns since the 2022 season, and it resulted in a blowout loss.
Now, Browns head coach Todd Monken will try to make things easier for Watson as they head into a road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to Ken Carman, the Browns are going to shrink the play calls to hopefully help Watson.
“Todd Monken says in his interview with Andrew Siciliano that he’ll shrink play calls against Tampa Bay,” Ken Carman posted.
Todd Monken says in his interview with Andrew Siciliano that he’ll shrink play calls against Tampa Bay.
— Ken Carman (@KenCarman) September 20, 2026
Yikes, it’s not a good look when your coach needs to shrink the playbook for a veteran quarterback. Watson has been around for quite some time and has spent multiple years in Cleveland. At this point, Watson should have a good idea of how the Browns run their offensive scheme.
Clearly, the Browns didn’t like what they saw from Watson in the season opener. Now, they’ll attempt to make it easier, so Watson will hopefully have more success this time around. Watson wasn’t terrible in Week 1; he completed 16-of-22 passing attempts for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
To be fair, Watson got his touchdown in garbage time with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter when it was already a blowout. Watson took five sacks last week, so maybe the Browns are trying to scheme a way for him to get the ball out of his hands faster to avoid taking sacks.
This could be a make-or-break game for Watson in Cleveland. Another disappointing outcome could result in the Browns making a change next week. The Browns have their home opener in Week 3, and they could make a change at quarterback if they suffer another loss on Sunday.
The Browns want to give Watson a chance, so we’ll see how he plays with this simple play-calling in Week 2. Another dud could result in Shedeur Sanders being under center for the home opener next week. A reduced playbook is usually not a good sign, especially for a veteran quarterback like Watson.
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