This Sunday’s Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a huge matchup for the Cleveland Browns for a number of reasons. There is obviously the subplot of former Browns No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield looking to guide his Bucs to his first ever win over the team that traded him, but on the Browns’ side, quarterback Deshaun Watson’s career could be on the line if he doesn’t play well.
Outside of the locker room, there is almost nobody still left in his corner after his poor Week 1 showing. If the Browns lose again, they’re going to have a hard time explaining to the fans why they’re still starting Watson when they go back home at 0-2 to face the hometown fans for the first time in Week 3.
The results haven’t been good no matter how you look at them, and ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio recently wrote an article about how this could be Watson’s seventh straight loss as a starter. If that happens, he’ll be the first Browns QB to lose seven in a row since DeShone Kizer lost 15 in a row in the infamous 0-16 campaign of 2017.
“Against the Buccaneers on Sunday, Watson could post his seventh straight loss as a starter. That would be the longest streak for any Browns quarterback since DeShone Kizer in 2017, when a 15-game losing streak cemented an 0-16 season. Which opened the door to drafting Baker Mayfield the following April,” Florio wrote.
That’s not exactly a list Watson would be proud to be on. The Browns showed little reason to believe they could pull this upset during their disastrous 34-10 Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Bucs also made a lot of mistakes in their Week 1 loss and do have some weaknesses for the Browns to exploit.
A few insiders actually believe the Bucs should be on upset alert. The Browns may not be good this season, but they have to be better than they were in Week 1. There is too much talent on both sides of the ball for that kind of performance to become the norm.
It should be a fun one on Sunday, and maybe Florio pointing this out could be a little bulletin board material for Watson, who is still seeking his first 300-yard passing game in Cleveland. With an angry home crowd looming in Week 3 and each start potentially being his last in the NFL at this point, all the pressure in the world is on Watson. Maybe that pressure can turn him into a diamond.
NEXT: 8 Browns Players Listed On Injury Report Ahead Of Sunday's Game
