Most football fans expected Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson to crash and burn after being named the starter for Week 1. After an awful training camp and preseason, Watson came out and laid an egg in Week 1 and was likely one more loss away from being benched ahead of the Week 3 home opener, but all of a sudden he has this team at 2-1 heading into a crucial matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Expectations still need to be tempered, but ever since Watson’s deep touchdown to Denzel Boston in garbage time of the Week 1 blowout to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has looked like a completely different quarterback than what Browns fans have seen during his tenure in Cleveland. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what changed, but Watson’s turnaround is undeniable over the past two games and insider Jordan Schultz has an idea why.
During a recent conversation with Ryan Clark, insider Jordan Schultz discussed head coach Todd Monken’s impact on Watson’s recent turnaround. He believes that Monken’s belief in his quarterback has played a big role in this situation.
“I’ve spoken to coach Monken a couple of times about this and he truly is a believer in Deshaun Watson. I think what maybe some people are missing is that I feel like Todd has brought back the belief into Deshaun himself, to a degree,” said Schultz.
#Browns HC Todd Monken has given Deshaun Watson something many players don't get:
Telling a player you believe in them when they might not believe 1000% in themselves.
I talked about this with @Realrclark25 on #ThePivotSports: pic.twitter.com/PWV6GEKHR1
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 30, 2026
Schultz said that Monken sat down with Watson and reaffirmed that he is the QB1 and made sure he knows that if and when he plays well, he will eventually get the fans back on his side after years of off-field controversies, injuries, and poor performance. Monken is clearly not someone who is afraid to get honest or emotional, so one can only imagine how those conversations went.
Watson has looked noticeably more confident over the past two games and has a different heir to him during his press conferences. He speaks with a smile and a level of excitement that he didn’t have over the past few years, and if he can guide this team to a win over the Steelers, that smile is going to get real big.
Many fans will never get behind him due to what happened off the field, and that’s okay. There is nothing Watson can do to control that, and Monken likely told him that as well. These two are overperforming expectations by quite a bit and it has been fun to watch of late.
It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a QB.
NEXT: Analyst Issues Warning About Browns' 2-1 Start
