After a very rough preseason outing in late August, it looked like any chance Deshaun Watson had to be the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback was long gone. Not only did Watson play poorly, but he was also expectedly booed by the home fans, which led to some churlish comments directed at them afterward.
All signs were pointing to Watson never taking the field for the Browns again, unless it was in an absolute emergency. Yet, despite all of that, head coach Todd Monken stuck to his beliefs and named Watson as the Browns’ starter. Now, a little more than a month later, Watson is playing the best he ever has with Cleveland, the fans are chanting his name, and the Browns are in first place.
That is why insider Tony Grossi has named the Monken-Watson relationship as the biggest surprise for the Browns this season heading into Week 5.
“The biggest surprise is that Todd Monken has been able to coax decent quarterback play out of Watson after he looked to be fried following the Buffalo preseason experience. Monken has been an effective psychologist in helping Watson to get his headspace right,” Grossi wrote.
Perhaps all it took was unwavering support from his head coach for Watson to finally reach his potential in Cleveland. Granted, he has struggled at times, particularly in the opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but since that 34-10 loss, Watson has generated three straight game-winning fourth-quarter scoring drives.
First, it was a touchdown pass to Blake Whiteheart for a 23-19 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. That was followed by a TD pass to Harold Fannin Jr. for a 21-18 victory against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, a result that got the home fans turning back to Watson’s side.
Then, on Thursday night, it was a short drive that set up Andre Szmyt’s long field goal in a 27-24 victory against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. It sparked a jubilant celebration at Huntington Bank Field that no one could have possibly seen coming when the season began.
Watson is almost certain to surpass all of his previous season highs with the Browns, and if it results in a playoff berth, or maybe even a division title, it would go down as one of the biggest surprises in NFL history.
NEXT: NFL Insider Reveals What He's Hearing About Browns DC
