Browns QB Deshaun Watson Makes Curious Comments About Blame in Loss

The Cleveland Browns didn’t score until the third quarter when their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was well out of hand.

The Jaguars took a 24-0 lead into halftime. The Browns went on a six-play, 89-yard drive that ended in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Denzel Boston to make the score 34-10 with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter skewed the stats to make Cleveland's anemic offense look better than it really was. 

Watson received heavy criticism for his play early in the day, but he finished 16 of 22 passing for 205 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was the leading rusher on the Browns with 38 yards. He took five sacks for -20 yards.

When speaking to reporters after the game, Watson suggested he'd get the blame for the offensive performance since he was the quarterback. He didn't appear to want to accept all of the blame, but said he'd take that responsibility "full throttle."

"Gotta find a rhythm overall," Watson said, via video posted to X by Mary Kary Cabot of cleveland.com. "Of course, everyone's gonna look at the quarterback in this situation. 

"Overall, I haven't been looked at the box score or whatever the stats, so I don't even know what that looks like... I mean we got to put points on the board, and that's what you got to do in this league. And playing a quarterback position, you're the leader in that role, and we didn't do that today. We only got 10."

The Browns were outgained by the Jaguars 360-272. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who played for Clemson after Watson was drafted by the Houston Texans, finished the game 18 of 23 passing for 245 yards and four touchdowns.

Watson is turning his mind to the Browns' Week 2 contest at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Each week is different, regardless of whether it would have gone the other way," Watson said. "Tomorrow we watch the tape, so we get another opportunity next week, and try to put one together and get a W. 

"So we got a lot to learn from in this tape, and keep pushing forward."

The Browns aren't going to win many games playing the way they did on Sunday with the offense. It remains to be seen how much grace Cleveland extends to its quarterback.