Cleveland’s new-look offense bumbled its way across the field from start to finish, and Deshaun Watson did nothing to calm concerns about his health and future.
CLEVELAND — It looked somewhat promising early. Even with a couple of penalties and miscommunications, the Browns opened their 2024 season with a 3-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys.
But that was as happy as it got on the shores of Lake Erie, with the rest of Sunday dampening the briefly festive atmosphere at the just-renamed Huntington Bank Field.
The Browns are now 0-1 following a 33-17 dismantling at the hands of “America’s Team,” with the final score not even coming close to telling the full story. While Dallas seemed to be clicking on all cylinders, Cleveland might’ve put forth one of its worst efforts since Kevin Stefanski became head coach, especially on offense under new coordinator Ken Dorsey.
Promising a revamped system, everything instead seemed out-of-sync, with much of the blame placed on Deshaun Watson. Coming off season-ending shoulder surgery a year ago, the $230 million quarterback did nothing to calm concerns about his long-term health and future, often relying on short throws and missing receivers whenever he tried to go deep.
When it was all over, Watson had completed only 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His 51.1 passer rating was also the second-lowest of his career for a full game.
In fairness, it’s not like Watson had a lot of help, as both of his picks were the result of deflections or dropped passed by his receivers. Elijah Moore had multiple drops, Amari Cooper couldn’t haul in a potential touchdown, and David Njoku also had trouble hanging onto the ball before leaving the game with an ankle injury.
Watson also found himself running for his life, with injuries to Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin forcing James Hudson III and Dawand Jones into starting duties at the offensive tackle spots. The patchwork O-line allowed five sacks, with Watson being pressured and beat up on dozens more drop backs.
The Browns fell behind 27-3 at one point before charging back too little, too late. As a team, Cleveland was 2 of 15 on third downs and also racked up 11 penalties for 64 yards.