CLEVELAND — Throughout the offseason and training camp, Cleveland Browns players, coaches and executives spoke glowingly about the state of their revamped offense built around Deshaun Watson and restoring the form of the starting quarterback who was returning from his season-ending shoulder surgery.
However, a season-opening 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday highlighted offseason concerns that the unit will have to correct ahead of its Week 2 road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. By halftime, the Browns trailed 20-3 and had totaled just one first down. It was the first time the team had one or fewer first downs in a first half since Week 16 of the 2005 season. Cleveland averaged 3.3 yards per play and was 2-of-15 on third down, the worst conversion rate for the team since that 2005 game.
“There’s things that I know we can do better, things that right away you saw that was not how we wanted to do it,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. “But we had plenty of time to prepare. Just did not get it done today.”
Watson has struggled since his debut in Cleveland in the 2022 season, recording one of the worst QBRs in the NFL in his 12 starts leading up to this season’s opener. But he hit a new low against Dallas; his 9.4 QBR was the lowest mark of his career in a game with at least 10 passes.
Watson went 24-of-45 for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was 0-for-9 on passes thrown 15 or more yards downfield, the most attempts in his career on those throws without a completion. Watson averaged just 2.6 air yards per attempt, the lowest mark in his career.
The Browns brought in Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator to help bridge Stefanski’s system with a more shotgun-based one that better suited Watson’s skill set. Instead, Watson looked as uncomfortable as he ever has in a Browns uniform, indecisive and off-target with his throws.
“Just the flow of the game,” Watson said of the lack of downfield passing. “Whatever the play is called, you try to find the open guy and the guy is there and sometimes the rush is getting there, so you got to dump it off to your checkdown. Just the flow of the game and how the game is getting called.”
While Watson struggled, the Browns’ issues on offense weren’t limited to the quarterback. An offensive line playing without starting tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, who remained sidelined by last year’s season-ending knee injuries, couldn’t block the Cowboys’ defensive front. Watson was pressured on 22 dropbacks, tied for the most in his career. Cleveland couldn’t lean on its running game either, totaling just 54 yards on 14 carries, excluding Watson’s scrambles.
“There’s going to be games and throws that you miss, but it’s making those plays that are there when they present themselves,” Stefanski said. “And then we just have to do a better job protecting him, No. 1. … We can’t allow our quarterback to get hit that many times.”
Self-inflicted mistakes exacerbated the Browns’ disjointed effort. Dallas accepted seven Cleveland penalties on offense, six of which were pre-snap or procedural infractions.
“I would say just offensively, it’s never a one-man show,” Stefanski said Monday. “To get in rhythm with the quarterback, you have to get in rhythm as an offense. And then we didn’t do that well enough. And it’s multifaceted, and it includes me and includes our coaches, so we’ll be better.”
Watson was held out of the preseason as he participated in all but one training camp practice in his return from shoulder surgery. Not only did Watson not play in any exhibition games, but his top receivers — Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore — all missed time in the summer because of injuries. Before the season opener, Stefanski downplayed any concerns about a lack of chemistry for the offense. And after its uninspiring debut, Stefanski refused to use it as an excuse.
The Browns could get reinforcements on the offensive line soon. Stefanski didn’t have an update on Wills or Conklin on Monday. But Conklin was listed as questionable before being ruled out, and Wills returned to practice last week.
Cleveland could be missing a top pass-catcher, though, as Stefanski said tight end David Njoku is “week to week” after sustaining an ankle injury in the opener.
But the major parts of a supporting cast that rallied around Joe Flacco late last season largely remain in place. And while Watson and those around continue to express confidence that he can get back to the Pro Bowl form he showed during his time with the Houston Texans, more and more time passes without consistent performances to back the belief.
“Nothing needs to be drastic,” guard Joel Bitonio said. “You don’t want to overreact to Game 1. We do want to play better. It’s not an overreaction to say that. It’s just what we need to do.”