Deshaun Watson is starting to settle in, and Thursday night gave the Browns another version of what they hoped to get when they brought him in.
Under the lights of Thursday Night Football, Watson helped Cleveland beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that carried the feel of a division swing. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and he did it while keeping the Browns moving all night long.
His lone mistake came when a pass was tipped by former Ohio State standout Jack Sawyer and landed in the hands of Robert Spears-Jennings. Even then, Watson didn’t drift. He stayed calm in the pocket, kept firing, and spread the ball around to seven different receivers.
The protection in front of him made a real difference. Watson was pressured on just 22% of his dropbacks, and that gave Cleveland a chance to keep its rhythm against Pittsburgh. It also helped turn a big night into a winning one.
Afterward, Watson sounded like a quarterback who could feel the moment. "This was electric," Watson said postgame.
"This was amazing. From the time we came out pregame, you know, it was super dope.
We came out, hearing the crowd, feeling the energy... the crowd was in it. You know, to get a big victory against a division rival... it was just... this is what you dream about; this is what you work for."
He also spoke openly about how much this stretch has meant after everything that came before it. "I’m in a great space," he said when asked about getting to the player he was expected to be when joining the Browns a few years ago.
"That’s in the past… It’s been tough. This hasn’t been a smooth ride at all, physically or mentally."
Todd Monken had his own postgame moment with Watson, and he shared it as a reminder of how far the quarterback has come in a short time. “Before the game...
I said, isn’t this really cool? You’re going to be introduced last, isn’t that really freaking cool?
It was only seven weeks earlier, and it’s, ‘Where are we going to go from here? The Bills game at home...
So cool," he said.
Watson’s recent run is hard to ignore. Over the last three games, he has completed 64 of 93 passes for 650 yards and five touchdowns, with Cleveland going 3-0 in that stretch. He’s also been the one delivering in the closing moments, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass in both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win and the Carolina Panthers' victory at home last weekend.
On Thursday, his work helped set up Andre Szmyt for the finishing kick, a 56-yarder that sealed it for Cleveland. Watson had no doubt about the result.
"It was money," Watson said about Szmyt's kick. "I just knew it was money.
He told me the landmark; it was like the 42-yardline. But I knew he was like, 'You got me a little extra...
We see it all the time; he was going to be money.
The Browns’ season opener in Jacksonville was a rough one, but the response since then has been much cleaner. Right now, Cleveland sits atop the AFC North, and every win feels like it matters in a division that is staying tight near the top.
The Browns will try to keep it going on Sunday, Oct. 11, when they travel to face the New York Jets at 1:00 p.m. EST. For now, they get a little extra time to breathe after another victory.
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