Today's the day. Deshaun Watson has served his 11-game suspension, and is set to start against Houston on the road today. I still don't know what to think or feel about him. I've had issues with this whole situation surrounding him since it first went down in March. Don't get me started on what I think of him as a person, and all the off the field baggage he brings, or the obscene price tag the Browns had to match to get him. Plus he will likely be rusty. It's been exactly 700 days since he's last played in an NFL game.
But it's time for me to toss my anxiety about everything out the window and analyze how Watson can lead the Browns to win #5 today. He'll definitely be a big upgrade from a football standpoint. How big? Let's take a look at today's Keys to Victory and find out!
Run the rock!
The Browns' chances to win always start (or end) with the run. Nick Chubb ran for 116 yards last week in Cleveland's 23-17 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team will have to have another big day on the ground to get things rolling. But here's the interesting wrinkle Watson adds to this Browns offense: Even if he's rusty, he's such a threat to light defenses up through the air, that just the fact that he's on the field, will force teams to play back a little more, instead of loading up the box and keying in on the Browns run game. He keeps them honest. With that in mind, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt should be fed the ball at least a total of 30 times combined, and probably closer to a total of 40. Houston's rushing defense is bad too, allowing an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
Unleash the "Sack Reaper"!
If I'm Myles Garrett, I'm salivating at another opportunity to get after the quarterback today. Heck, if I'm one of the guys on the Browns entire defensive front, I'd be salivating today. There's no sugarcoating it: Houston's pass protection is BAD. They allowed five sacks last week in the team's 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Cleveland has been playing better up front defensively over the last few weeks, and a game against bad pass protection will only increase their confidence. Myles Garrett has already said he wants to add Brandon Allen's name to his Graveyard of Quarterbacks. If things go like they're expected to, the Sack Reaper will claim another victim today. Look for Garrett to add to his streak of sacking the quarterback at least once over the last six games. The Browns defensive line should feast today like a bunch of hungry dogs at a meat market! 3+ sacks won't surprise me one bit.
Keep Watson clean
If things go well for Cleveland offensively, it'll only be a matter of time before Kevin Stefanski likely starts dialing up the deep shots to Donovan Peoples-Jones, Amari Cooper, and others. Usually, I'm not a fan of this offense taking too many deep shots to kickstart things, because it often ends up backfiring. Perhaps I've been traumatized by too many interceptions tossed by Baker Mayfield when he was still here. But if Cleveland runs the ball as well as I think they can, Watson will get a chance to start knocking the rust off by uncorking deep bombs through the air.
The only warning here: The Browns offensive line has still had issues with pass protection at times, and Watson is supposedly notorious for taking a lot of sacks when he shouldn't. That worries me. Jacoby Brissett never put himself in that kind of situation. He was a game manager who didn't make a lot of mistakes. And one of those positive game manager qualities Brissett had, was that he didn't often take sacks. If Watson falls into that old bad habit, the Texans defensive line could get after him. Houston DE Jerry Hughes has eight sacks on the season, and is undoubtedly hungry to rack up more. The Browns offensive line may have their work cut out for them today.
The Watson Era has officially begun in Cleveland. Whether you love him or hate him, one thing's for sure: the eyes of the NFL will definitely be paying close attention to what goes down in Houston today.
A new chapter in Brown's history starts today at 1 PM. It all goes down on CBS. GO BROWNS!
Sources: Dawgs by Nature, NFL on YouTube
Picture Credit: clutchpoints.com
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