Quarterback play across the NFL rarely looks the same in September as it does in January. Some of the league’s biggest names start slowly, while others surprise everyone with how sharp they look out of the gate. Context matters when judging anyone this early. One former player believes that context puts Deshaun Watson in a much better light than most people realize.
Emmanuel Acho, the former NFL linebacker who began his career as a Browns draft pick, weighed in on Watson’s start during a recent episode of The Speakeasy.
“There’s been a lot of bad quarterback play this year. If we’re being real, Deshaun Watson played at a top-10 level right now. Josh Allen had an awful game. Justin Herbert has been atrocious. Matthew Stafford has been god-awful. Sam Darnold has been absent. If you really start to think about the quarterback play around the National Football League this year, Deshaun Watson is actually playing at a competent quarterback level. You might say it doesn’t look as good as you want it to look, but it’s been effective. He’s 2-1. There’s some teams we thought would be good that are 0-3. Deshaun Watson is playing well enough to win in a year where a lot of quarterbacks aren’t playing well enough to win,” Acho said.
"Deshaun Watson is playing at a top 10 QB level right now! We've had a lot of bad QB play this year"
– @EmmanuelAcho gives Deshaun Watson kudos following his 2-1 start to the season with the Cleveland Browns… @CutonDime25 had other thoughts
LIVE NOW ➡️ https://t.co/H16dFHp0Ey pic.twitter.com/la6YRquQCY
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) September 28, 2026
The key word in that argument is effective. Watson has completed 56 of 82 passes for 587 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception through 3 games, good for a 104.1 passer rating. He has also added 105 yards on the ground.
That is a massive jump from where he has been. Watson never finished a season in Cleveland with a passer rating above 84.3, and he posted marks of 79.1 and 79.0 in 2 of his first 3 years with the team.
Protecting the football has been the biggest difference. One interception through 3 games is the kind of mistake-free play a young roster needs, especially with a defense that is capable of winning games on its own.
The top-10 label is generous, though. Watson ranks 23rd in the league in passing yards and 19th in QBR, and he has been sacked 9 times. The offense has leaned heavily on short throws, and he averaged under 5 yards per attempt against Carolina.
With several established stars struggling and injuries piling up at the position around the league, a quarterback who avoids turnovers and makes plays late in close games stands out more than usual.
That is what Watson did on Sunday. After Carolina took an 18-13 lead in the 4th quarter, he answered with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr. and a 2-point conversion that sealed the win.
For a player whose tenure has been defined by what has gone wrong, hearing a national voice call him competent is progress. Browns fans have been waiting years for Watson to simply be good enough, and right now he is.
The next opportunity to prove it comes Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A strong showing against a division rival on a national stage would give more analysts a reason to agree with Acho, and it would give Watson a stronger case as he plays out the final year of his contract.
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