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LANDOVER, Md. – The good people of Cleveland, Ohio, don’t deserve this. May the population instead seek comfort from the Guardians in October. The Browns are incapable of eliciting anything but pity.

While other problems hamper the Browns, quarterback Deshaun Watson is largely to blame for their 1-4 start and another season that fell by the wayside after Sunday's 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders. The Browns guaranteed him generational wealth, and he rewarded the franchise with sub-mediocrity and borderline cruelty.

Next week marks his sixth start of 2024, the number he has made in each of his first two seasons with the Browns. Coach Kevin Stefanski shouldn't let him get that far. Why not try out what Jameis Winston can do? It's still early enough to make a change and try to lead the team's solid defense to another postseason berth.

But the Watson era should end. If things completely work out with Joe Flacco, the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year and the Browns' savior last season, and the man who is worth $230 million guaranteed completely falters, then Stefanski has every right to make the move to be carried out. Maybe Watson's paycheck and orders from above are stopping him. These forces would doom the Browns to further losses.

Watson moves like a quarterback who doesn't trust himself. Take, for example, his fumble, which was initially ruled an interception – this type of turnover – in the third quarter. He took a shotgun blast. No Browns receiver was open. Watson panicked and lost the ball, which ended up in the hands of Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu.

By that point, it had already been a brutal afternoon for Watson and his unit at Northwest Stadium. When the Browns' offense left the field with less than two minutes left in the first half, they had gained a total of 47 yards. Watson was 6 of 14 for 34 passing yards (2.6 yards per attempt). The Browns trailed 24-3. Watson finished the half 8 of 18 for 67 yards; Cleveland ended the half with a punt and failed to convert on any of the eight third downs it faced. Meanwhile, the Commanders had totaled 221 yards of offense.

The player Watson once was couldn't be further in the past. This is not the same quarterback who earned three Pro Bowl nods from 2018-2020 and led a game-winning touchdown drive in the national title game to ultimately defeat Clemson and defeat dynastic Alabama. He finished Sunday 15 of 28 for 125 yards and a touchdown. Watson was sacked seven times and his longest completion was 19 yards.

In 2022, a suspension followed the league's investigation into the more than two dozen sexual harassment lawsuits filed against Watson – last month, a 27th woman filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault stemming from massage requests – during his time as the quarterback Houston Texans limited him to six starts this season. At the time, Watson was underwhelming and rust was the excuse, as he had also sat out the entire 2021 season while playing out his deal with the Texans when the allegations surfaced. Injuries also limited him to six appearances in 2023; He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last November.

On Sunday there was the slightest chance of changing the situation at the beginning of the third quarter. The Browns defense forced a fumble on the Commanders' first play from scrimmage. Watson found receiver Amari Cooper for consecutive completions to the Washington 2-yard line. But the Browns had to call a timeout and also take a delay-of-game penalty – Stefanksi appeared insulted on the sideline – and settled for a field goal. The Browns didn't find the end zone until 7:02 minutes into the game. That made it 34-13 in favor of a Commanders team whose defense certainly isn't impenetrable, but seemed to be against the Browns. The Browns' own defense, which should be among the best in the league, folded and made the game a laugh.

The good news for Cleveland is that there is still plenty of room for change within the AFC North. Pittsburgh leads the division race 3-1 heading into Sunday night's game against Dallas. The Browns have yet to play a division opponent. Myles Garrett hasn't been fully healthy and running back Nick Chubb's return could be imminent in the coming weeks.

This doesn't have to be a completely lost season. At least going to Winston doesn't mean throwing in the towel. Watson is now just another name that Browns fans can add to the endless list of quarterbacks who have disappointed.

On By John Fenwick

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