Deshaun Watson Threw For Three 2nd Half Touchdowns And The Browns Remain Undefeated In 2023
Undefeated in 2023!!!! The question now must be asked: is this the Browns year? (Please let me have my fun. I'm at a low point in my sports life right now)
You all know the Buckeyes got bullied by Michigan (for the 2nd year in a row) like they were a dweeb in grade school, only to be followed up with their National Title hopes getting ripped from under them last night by a combination of a cheap headshot on Marvin Harrison Jr that resulted in a concussion and the officials deciding that he wasn't actually hit in the head, although he was concussed. Anyways, I needed this Browns win today, because I'm down in the dumps and obviously this NFL season has been nothing short of a disaster. From the time the Browns traded three 1st round draft picks and paid $230 million guaranteed for a guy with 25+ sexual assault allegations, to the Baker Mayfield awkward stalemate, to the original Watson suspension, to the increased Watson suspension, to epic collapse after epic collapse in the first half of the season, to the entire coaching staff needing to be fired multiple times this season, to the slow start for Watson when he finally got back, to getting eliminated from playoff contention on Christmas Eve with two games still remaining, I have never had less fun watching a football team. And the first half of today's game against Washington did not do anything to break that trend.
Kevin Stefanski headed into the half with what I would say had to be even odds that he would get fired. And as crazy as that sounds, I really do believe it. I do think he's earned the right over the past couple years to see what he can do with Deshaun Watson, but the combo of his absolutely boneheaded decision making all year paired with the offense looking no better, if not worse, than it did with Jacoby Brissett.....let's just say his seat definitely wasn't cold. A bad second half, complete with trying to outsmart the defense and refusing to give the ball to Nick Chubb, may have sent Stefanski on a classic Browns vacation: unemployed but fully paid.
And he must've known it too. Because for the first time all year, the Browns coaching staff made some legitimate half time adjustments, came out as a team with a fire lit under their ass, and looked like a high powered professional football team.
Uhhhh, where did that come from? 3 passing touchdowns for Deshaun Watson, two receiving touchdowns for Amari Cooper, and a 21-3 demolition in the final two quarters. Folks, I may be a prisoner of the moment, but one word to describe me right now is optimistic. That Deshaun Watson looked like 2020 Deshaun Watson, and if we have 2020 Deshaun Watson in 2023, the Browns will be a good football team. That is simply a fact. And that makes me feel good on the inside. It also makes me feel a little better that we're worsening our draft pick that we have to send to Houston next year. The first of many!
Anyways, the fact of the matter is that today's game did not matter one bit, but it ensured Stefanski is for sure back next year, and it's going to keep us all hooked in the offseason. Deshaun Watson in the 2nd half looked like he was worth the investment, and we have four more years of him. We now have one more game next week at Pittburgh, and if I know my Browns, they will pummel the Steelers in a meaningless game and get me back on the Super Bowl 2024 train. Either that or they'll get beat 42-6 and we'll fire our coach for the 6th time in a decade.