After a shaky start nearly cost him his job, Deshaun Watson silenced critics with a strong Week 2 performance and win, earning him weekly recognition from Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken.
What a difference a week can make in the NFL.
In his return to the football field for the first time in nearly two years last week, Deshaun Watson threw an interception on the first series of the game, that led to things spiraling out of control in a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Watson finished that game 16-of-22, for 205 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, and the Cleveland Browns offense looked so stagnant his job was reportedly on the line heading into Week 2.
When he needed it most, Watson delivered one of the best performances of his Browns tenure, completing 24-of-30 passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns. Most importantly, the effort was enough to lift Cleveland to a 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and save his job in the process.
It was also enough to garner some recognition from head coach Todd Monken.
"I was happy for Deshaun. He was our offensive player of the game," Monken revealed during his Monday Zoom press conference. "He made a number of plays with his legs. Played with confidence. He let it rip. You could see the difference between Week 1 and Week 2. And I think we're just gonna keep growing together."
The tangible improvement was notable for the embattled signal caller. And despite the fact that he's in his 10th season in the NFL and just turned 31 last week, Monken believes there's even more room for Watson to grow.
"The way he's played, and I expected improvement. And I expect continued improvement. There's a lot of football left in him. Just hasn't played in a while and learning out system and trying to get him consistent with his drops and his reads. It's part of the process.
"I see him as a young player. I know people don't wanna see it that way, and I haven't been here. But I see him still as a very young player that is gonna continue to grow."
It also didn't help that Watson was caught in the thick of a heated QB competition throughout camp, which wasn't resolved until the final week of the preseason.
"While we were doing the competition, he split reps with the ones for a while and that benefited Shedeur [Sanders], but it maybe didn't benefit the guy who wound up being the starter," admitted Monken.
With the practice time now fully dedicated to Watson working with the first, there's reason to believe he can continue to improve even further.
Still, Browns fans have seen several one-off performances like this from Watson in the past, but they haven't necessarily proven to be replicable week-over-week.
Watson will try to change that when the Browns return to Huntington Bank Field to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.
