The Cleveland Browns turned a lot of fans and most of the media against them when they recommitted to Deshaun Watson this offseason. His tenure in Cleveland was all but over after owner Jimmy Haslam called the trade for him a swing and a miss, but despite tearing his Achilles twice and not having played in two years, he once again assumed the starting quarterback role last week and the results were not pretty.
He led the Browns to a brutal 34-10 walloping at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars and will have one more shot to put a win on the board before the Browns head home for their first game in Cleveland in Week 3. If Watson leads this team out there in Week 3 with an 0-2 record, it will throw even more kerosene into this fire and the fans’ reaction to him trotting out there will resemble a full-blown mutiny.
Watson keeps making things worse by playing victim and dodging any accountability for both his off-field transgressions and his poor play. During his press conference on Wednesday, he called out the media for their unrealistic expectations of him.
“I think the media has this expectation that I’m supposed to throw 400 yards and five touchdowns every week,” said Watson.
Wow: Browns QB Deshaun Watson goes OFF on the media for their unrealistic expectations of his play…
"I think the media has this expectation that I'm supposed to throw 400 yards and 5 touchdowns every week."
😳😳😳pic.twitter.com/PwSkURZJrA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 16, 2026
Nobody expects Watson to do that, nor do the fans. They expect him to avoid mistakes and to take accountability and display strong leadership to help guide this team in a better direction.
The offensive line graded out quite well in Week 1 and rookie receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston looked as good as advertised. Yet, Watson still turned the ball over, walked right into unnecessary sacks, and appeared uninterested throughout most of the game. Comments like these don’t help, yet he continues to make them and further confirm people’s suspicions that he is simply running out the clock at this point and is only here for the paycheck.
Browns fans have every right to be livid about how this situation has unfolded. He has been with the Browns for almost five years and the team has nothing to show for it. He hasn’t had a single great game with this team over that span, so nobody is expecting 400 yards and five touchdowns, but fans also aren’t wrong for expecting just one pretty good performance. He has one three-touchdown game with the Browns and hasn’t thrown for 300 yards since he was with the Houston Texans in 2020. Fans aren’t asking for 400 yards and five touchdowns, but 300 yards and three touchdowns just one time would be the bare minimum ROI to expect from a $230 million investment.
That is not too much to ask.
NEXT: KC Concepcion Isn't Sweating His Rough NFL Debut
