The Cleveland Browns are in a familiar spot once again. The defense is putting together a solid run of form, but their success is being wasted thanks to the poor play of their starting quarterback. Even among the league's preeminent quarterback graveyard, Deshaun Watson is making history for all the wrong reasons.
Watson has the Browns at 1-4 in a very competitive division, all while posting a QBR below 30 in four of his five starts and a QB below 10 in two of them, including Sunday's loss against the Washington Commanders. Even in their lone win this season, Cleveland mustered just 18 points in a defense-led victory.
Watson's fully guaranteed contract for the next few seasons makes things even worse, as he can dodge accountability. His play is terrible, so much so that he is mirroring one famous draft bust, but there appears to be no end in sight for the Cleveland offense.
Watson's yards per attempt have fallen down to 4.8 yards per attempt. The only player in the league who can claim to be lower is Carolina Panthers bust Bryce Young, who has already been sent to the bench. When will Watson get the same treatment?
Browns QB Deshaun Watson putting up Bryce Young-like numbers in 2024
Watson has now started 17 games with the Browns. His yards per game average has fallen from 269 in Houston to 180 in Cleveland. Watson, who is on pace to get sacked 88 times an shatter David Carr's infamous record set during his rookie season, has just 19 touchdown passes in 17 games after averaging just under 30 per 17 games in Houston.
Watson's yards per attempt has fallen from 8.3 per attempt in Houston to 5.9 in Cleveland. His passer rating was 104.5 in Houston, which is on par with the best of the best across the NFL, to 79.5, which is bench-worthy in the modern NFL. Due to his low interception rate, those numbers may actually paint a slightly optimistic outlook for Watson.
Watson is currently second-to-last in the league in adjusted EPA per play, with only Young coming in behind him. His CPOE (completion percentage over expected) is just as bad, as only Young, Anthony Richardson, and Jordan Love (all of whom have either been benched or injured this year) are ranked underneath him.
Unless Jameis Winston is going to get a shot as the starter, expect even more struggles from Watson and Kevin Stefanski.
