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It was one of those days for Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns, who lost 33-17 to the Dallas Cowboys on Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. Additionally, the Cowboys spoiled Watson's first game on his comeback tour, after a league suspension and surgery derailed his career over the past two seasons. The Cowboys also came out with energy after signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a historic four-year, $240-million extension, along with locking wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136-million extension.
After a disappointing performance, Deshaun Watson only had six words for his team.
“We just have to play better,” Watson said, according to Zac Jackson on X, formerly Twitter.
Week 1: Browns vs. Cowboys
All game long, the Browns' offensive line struggled to protect Deshaun Watson from the Cowboys' defense, which had 17 credited hits on the Browns QB and six sacks. Head coach Kevin Stefanski wasn't happy with his offense, and he let people know, per reports.
“Yeah, he got hit way too often. 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,” Stefanski said, via Tom Withers of the Associated Press.
Besides the sacks, the signal caller also took hard bumps after the pocket collapsed and forced him to run. The hits didn't seem to affect Watson's surgically repaired shoulder, but he said he couldn't really be sure about his physical condition until the adrenaline wore off.
Still, the Browns played so poorly that the fans started booing them in the first half. Then, many of them left in the third quarter.
Watson added, “We're not the type of people that make excuses. 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 had wanted to unleash their revamped offense in Week 1, but the new Stefanski offense, which he worked on with first-year coordinator Ken Dorsey, only gained them a single first down and only 54 yards in the first 30 minutes of action.
Besides his comments to his teammates, Watson also shook off any hits to his confidence.
“I'll always be Deshaun Watson, regardless of whoever else says otherwise. We all have days like this when you're playing this type of game, and that's just part of what comes with it. It comes with the territory,” the Browns QB said.
Looking ahead
Following this rout, the Browns will face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars next on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys plan to go up 2-0 as they match up with the New Orleans Saints.
