The Cleveland Browns offense had been stuck in reverse for much of the season, never eclipsing the 300-yard mark in its first six games.
Things finally started clicking for the Browns against the Cincinnati Bengals as the team showed signs of life and earned 336 yards of offense against their AFC North foes in a 21-14 loss.
On Sunday, veteran quarterback Jameis Winston equaled that output by himself, throwing for 334 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for two yards to break his team out of their offensive doldrums and snap their five-game losing streak.
Winston earned the start after quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered an Achilles injury against the Bengals, and he underwent season-ending surgery this week to repair the torn tendon.
Browns insider Tony Grossi shared his thoughts on X after the Browns’ 29-24 victory on Sunday.
“Pretty obvious they’re a better team w/o Watson,” Grossi wrote.
Post-game thoughts on Browns 29, Ravens 24:
🏈 Pretty obvious they’re a better team w/o Watson.
🏈 Dawand Jones might have future at LT after all.
🏈 Good for Tillman, Jeudy, Moore.
🏈 JOK & Diabate balled out.
🏈 It’s not too late to make a run to save the culture.— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) October 28, 2024
In 19 games over three seasons, Watson has yet to have a 300-yard passing performance.
Counting last season, the Browns have eclipsed that mark five times with Watson’s replacements, including four times with former quarterback Joe Flacco under center.
The Browns also recorded 80 rushing yards on Sunday against the Ravens as running backs Nick Chubb and D’Onta Foreman earned all but two of those yards.
Cleveland’s offense scored 29 points, almost as many as the team recorded in the previous two outings before Sunday’s output.
Winston provided a dynamic feature that the Browns have lacked under Watson, a deep passing threat.
The veteran quarterback completed six passes for 20 yards or more in the contest, a mixture of short passes that players broke for long gains and longer passes to those targets.
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