HOUSTON, TX — In one of the most emotionally charged and highly anticipated games in recent memory, Deshaun Watson looked and played like a QB who hasn’t seen NFL action in 700 days in a Browns 27-14 win.
Watson, whom Cleveland signed to a controversial and historical 5-year $230 million fully guaranteed contract, completed 12/22 passes for 131 yards and one interception.
Leading up to the game, Watson, who recently completed an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy in allegedly sexually assaulting twenty-plus Houston-area massage therapists, was vehemently and loudly booed during warmups and for the entire game.
With a reported 10 of the twenty-plus women watching from Houston-area attorney Tony Buzbee’s suite at NRG Stadium, they saw a man who looked weary, exhausted and not himself in making a lot of low throws and a lot of rust.
Luckily for Watson, the much maligned Browns defense and special teams bailed him out.
Thanks to a 77-yard punt return by Donovan Peoples-Jones, a four-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Denzel Ward and a 16-yard interception return for a TD by Tony Fields II, Cleveland got a win it desperately needed, for both Watson and a team desperate to stay in the playoff hunt.
With the home stretch in sight and key games vs. the AFC North, Cleveland could perhaps make some noise with Watson under center.
Time will tell, but with Houston in the raw review mirror, and all the angst and emotion now over with, perhaps all parties can now feel free to move forward and on with their respective lives.