The Cleveland Browns had a poor start to the 2024 season. Cleveland hosted Dallas to kick off the season and disappointed at every turn. Both the offense and defense struggled in a game that has fans worried about the new season.
Former NFL coach Rex Ryan did not hold back in critiquing the Browns for their disastrous Week 1 loss.
“That’s what you put out there? You had all off-season, all training camp, and that’s what you put out there?” Ryan said on The Get Up. “They got out coached too, yeah the quarterback played like garbage, well that plan was horrible. First off you can’t let Micah Parsons destroy the game. Part of the reason Deshaun Watson looked as bad as he did because they couldn’t block.”
Watson went 24 for 45 for 169 yards at 3.8 yards per attempt in a losing effort. Watson, who is considered a mobile QB, took 6 sacks to go along with 2 interceptions. Cowboys Micah Parsons was pressuring Watson all day long with five QB hits and a sack.
“You guys signed off on this Deshaun Watson trade. So it ain’t just this kid making all the money and all,” Ryan said. “The guy used to be a hell of a player. We’ve seen him one time since he went to Cleveland where he looked like the old Deshaun Watson, and that was when he hit 13 straight passes with a shoulder injury to beat Baltimore, that’s it. So to me, confidence, the kid is playing with zero confidence. Who the hell is that on? Just the kid? Bull!, Bull! It’s on the coach as well.”
Deshaun Watson is stuck in Cleveland no matter what, largely because of his monstrous $72.9 million cap hits in 2025 and 26. Watson hasn’t looked the same since joining the Browns after his 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct.
Browns picking up the pieces after brutal loss to Cowboys in Week 1
The Browns need to figure out how to turn their season around in a hurry.
QB Deshaun Watson had a short and simple message for what needs to happen next.
“We just have to play better,” Watson said, according to Zac Jackson on X, formerly Twitter.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski agrees. He did not hold back when describing his disappointment with his offense in the home opener.
“Yeah, he got hit way too often,” Stefanski said referring to Watson, via Tom Withers of the Associated Press. “We can't let that happen to him. He fought like crazy, and listen, the football team fought like crazy to the end. But bottom line is, we have to protect our quarterback better than that.”
The Browns played so poorly that fans started booing them in the first half. Many fans left during the third quarter.
“We're not the type of people that make excuses,” Watson added. “So some people can say that can contribute a lot, you know, my injury, guys missing time. But at the end of the day, once you're on the field, you gotta perform, you gotta execute. We didn't do that overall. And yeah, it showed.”
The Browns need to rebound in a hurry as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in Week 2.
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