Browns News: Kevin Stefanski clarifies QB situation amid Deshaun Watson struggles

Facing third down on the game's second drive, Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels dodged incoming pressure and threw a 66-yard pass deep to wide receiver Terry McLaurin. This was far from the last big play Daniels made during the game.

On several occasions, Daniels escaped pressure and made plays that gave his team a dominant 34-13 victory. Daniels was far from perfect — he threw an interception in the red zone early — but he made more than enough plays to give his team a blowout win.

This was a stark contrast to the other offense in the game, led by Deshaun Watson. In Sunday's win, the Commanders kept Watson and the Cleveland Browns out of the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter. The Browns totaled seven punts and converted just one of their 13 third-down attempts.

The Browns have not scored 20 points in any of their five games this season and entered Sunday ranked fifth-to-last in points per game and fourth-to-last in passing yards per game. Watson hasn't thrown for 200 yards in a game this season.

Against a Commanders defense that is giving up an average of 357 yards per game, Watson threw for just 125 yards and was sacked a total of seven times. That ineptitude is par for the course with Watson this season. In five games, he has thrown for 852 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Despite the offense's struggles with Watson at quarterback and Jameis Winston coming off the bench for the team's final drive, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said they are not considering a quarterback change.

“We’re not changing quarterbacks,” Stefanski said, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “We have to play better. I need to train better.”

“On offense, it’s not a one-person problem. We have the boys. We have the trainers. We will make things right.”

Wide receiver Amari Cooper agreed that Watson is not the problem.

“To be honest, I don’t think Deshaun is the problem at all. We can always play better for him,” Cooper said of Oyefusi.

Stefanski and Cooper may deny that Watson was the problem and are unlikely to publicly denigrate their quarterback, but Watson has undoubtedly disappointed since arriving in Cleveland.

This was most evident last season when Joe Flacco took over as the team's starting quarterback last season. Flacco played in six games for the Browns during the 2023-24 season, throwing for over 300 yards and multiple touchdown passes in five of those six games. The Browns were 4-2 behind Flacco and simply played better with him at quarterback.

Flacco is now with the Indianapolis Colts and the Browns have made great strides as a team.

While the Browns remain hopeful that Watson will play better, their decision to trade three first-round picks and reward Watson with a five-year, $230 million contract with $230 million guaranteed is unavoidable – after he was accused of sexual misconduct with women over 20 years old – is considered one of the worst decisions in NFL history.

Meanwhile, Watson's replacement quarterback, Baker Mayfield, is playing the best football of his career. Mayfield threw for 1,164 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions while leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 3-2 start. Last season, Mayfield threw for over 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs.

The Browns gave up a lot of assets to acquire Watson rather than stick with Mayfield, but that doesn't mean they have to stick with him at quarterback.

The Denver Broncos passed on Russell Wilson and had to admit defeat to the $53 million dead cap hit. Both the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers were not afraid to either bench or trade Trey Lance and Bryce Young after the two players failed to play effectively despite giving up several high picks to acquire them in the first place Draft.

Like so many times in their franchise's history, the Browns have made a mistake at the quarterback position, but this one might be the worst of them all.

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