The stage was all set for Deshaun Watson to crash and burn in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and officially put a bow on his career with the Cleveland Browns. It would have been easy for him to roll over and get benched for good so the Browns could turn to Shedeur Sanders and avoid having to trot Watson out there in front of a potentially raucous crowd that might reject him, but Watson flipped the script and had arguably his best performance in a Browns uniform.
Now, nobody knows what to make of this team, and they head into a tough Week 3 matchup with the Carolina Panthers with a chance to go over .500 and change the trajectory of their whole season. This game will be a great indicator of whether or not Watson’s performance last week was a fluke, and if his showing in practice this week is any indicator, his performance against the Bucs could be a sign of things to come.
Jonathan Jones of The Athletic recently wrote about some of the updates he is hearing about the quarterback situations around the league. As for Watson, he noted that he has been at his best in practice this week and could be in better spirits now that he has a win under his belt.
“Watson has been more decisive in practice this week, according to a Browns source. The win seems to have lifted his spirits,” Jones said.
Watson’s new attitude was palpable immediately after the game and during his media sessions earlier this week. After previously calling out the fans earlier this season, he did a 180 and spoke about how he is looking forward to their support on Sunday.
All the calls for Watson’s head will have to be put on pause for at least a week, and if he has another big performance in him against Carolina, we may never see Shedeur Sanders take the field for this team again. That’s not the news that his defenders want to hear, but it’s becoming apparent why the coaching staff ultimately went with Watson.
He is helping the young guys develop, and that’s something that will last for years after he is gone. Hopefully now that he finally logged a win, he can keep the ball rolling and put a little streak together starting on Sunday.
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