Few expected the Cleveland Browns to be heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers with a chance to move to 2-1 on the young season, but after upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, suddenly the narrative surrounding this team is looking like it’s up for debate. Nobody knows what this team is capable of just yet, and it’s up to quarterback Deshaun Watson and his squad to prove that what happened in Tampa wasn’t a fluke.
The Panthers come to town with one of the hottest offenses in the NFL thus far as young QB Bryce Young has continued to improve and has three passing touchdowns in each of his first two games. It’s tough to predict an outcome for a game like this between two volatile 1-1 teams, but Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot tried her best.
In a recent video shared, Cabot discussed how Watson just had his best week of practice before sharing her prediction for Sunday. She predicted a 20-17 win for the Browns and doesn’t see the fans giving Watson as negative of a reaction as others may believe.
“I actually think that he’s (Watson) going to be able to do it. I think he will have the support of his teammates. I think there will be plenty of fans that are also excited about what he did in Tampa last week, so I actually am going to pick the Browns to win this game 20-17,” said Cabot.
How Deshaun Watson had his best week of practice, and my pick for #Browns vs. #Panthers: –> pic.twitter.com/NLRiJoQdkE
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 26, 2026
The fans are being urged to welcome Watson with open arms and get behind this team that suddenly has some promise and some momentum. The doomers were prepared for Watson to fail and for this team to limp back home at 0-2, especially after falling flat on their faces in Week 1 at the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they showed plenty of resiliency against Tampa.
Holding this Panthers offense to 17 points would be an accomplishment in its own right. They have scored 71 points through the first two games of the year, but the defense still feels like an unknown. They gave up 59 points to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears in Week 1, yet held the Atlanta Falcons to just three points last week as they terrorized Cooper Rush and Jack Strand at quarterback all day.
It should be a fun one, and hopefully Cabot’s prediction is accurate.
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