A day where, much to the chagrin of those of us with a moral compass and a functional memory, football fans worldwide could declare Watson was “so back” and that the Browns were in some blinkered, alternate universe, a Super Bowl contender. No such luck, as the Browns looked like the Browns – reminding an otherwise jubilant city of Cleveland that they are trapped in the sports equivalent of the Backrooms. Limping along for 155 passing yards and one touchdown, Watson fell to Earth harder than David Bowie in a Nicolas Roeg film (yes, I just watched the Dennis Miller Monday Night Football documentary on HBO).
He completed fewer than 50% of his passes and ended the day with a 69.6 passer rating. I should also probably mention he got sacked eight times. He only completed seven more passes than he received punishing hits behind the line of scrimmage.
It was a performance NBC NFL writer Patrick Daugherty called “unspeakably bad.” Actually, I think the performance was very much speakable, as I’ve demonstrated here. Stick around for another 400 words. The thing that has defined Watson’s run as a potentially viable NFL quarterback has been his ability to march down the field and win a game in the dying embers of the contest.
After three game-winning drives to start the season, it seemed like the Browns were poised to pull out another improbable victory from deep where the sun don’t shine, but no. On fourth and 11 – with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, down by five – Watson dropped back, only for his pocket to evaporate faster than a spilled Dasani in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Ejected violently from the pocket, Watson begins to scramble.
On fourth and 11, by the way. He’s unceremoniously tackled near the line of scrimmage, putting the game on ice. Starting off Sunday, these seemed like two teams going in the opposite direction, but the reality on the field was more like the Spider-Man pointing meme.
Offensive ineptitude, with both the Jets and Browns recording fewer than 300 yards of total offense, giving away two fumbles, and failing to convert touchdowns twice in the red zone. The New York Post might have called this game “tense” and “gritty”, but I’m sure many viewers could think of more apropos adjectives to describe what they witnessed – a game that hinged on a botched snap sailing through the hands of Browns punter Corey Bojorquez. That wayward punt turned into a game-winning touchdown for Jets RB Braelon Allen.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
