Only one quarterback has been worse than Deshaun Watson this season

The Cleveland Browns are 1-2 and Deshaun Watson’s poor play through three games is a pretty big reason why. The Browns’ latest loss was to a previously winless team with a pretty lousy quarterback situation as well but that didn’t stop the New York Giants from winning in Cleveland against a team that made the playoffs a season ago.

Watson was terrible in the game but at this point, that’s not breaking news for Browns fans. He threw for 192 yards (a season-high) and two touchdowns (also a season-high) with zero interceptions but continued to not get the job done. He was brought to Cleveland to help the team win and he’s not doing that. Not only that but he’s performing horribly.

Well, to throw salt on the wound here, only one quarterback in the NFL has a worse QB rating than Watson. It’s not Daniel Jones, who the Browns defense struggled to stop on Sunday. It’s also not Wil Levis, who is quarterbacking the 0-3 Titans and making countless mistakes.

Want a hint? This player was recently benched. If you guessed Bryce Young, you got it! According to Seth Walder of ESPN Analytics, Watson’s QBR (quarterback rating) is only better than one qualifying quarterback and that quarterback is Bryce Young, who was benched after two miserable performances.

https://twitter.com/SethWalder/status/1838062329994359040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

For those not fully aware of the Young situation, I’ll break it down for you. Young was the number one overall pick by the Panthers in 2023 and started all but one game for them as a rookie. He won just two games as a rookie but many pointed to the dysfunction of the Panthers and the lack of talent surrounding him for the reasons he didn’t play well.

Well, after Young started the year with back-to-back dreadful performances, Panthers head coach Dave Canales benched the former first overall pick and fellow AFC North resident Andy Dalton took over as the starter. The Panthers proceeded to blow out the Raiders.

So, to sum up, Deshaun Watson has only been better than a quarterback who was benched after two games and whose team is better off without him starting. Not good.

The Browns sunk a lot of money into Watson and it hasn’t panned out. Getting out of the contract wouldn’t be an easy move, as the Browns would be on the hook for nearly $100 million, according to CBS Sports. That being said, the Browns can make the decision to move him to the bench and try to start winning games with Jameis Winston.

Yes, the offensive line injuries would make it difficult for anyone playing quarterback in Cleveland but Watson doesn’t help himself there by holding onto the ball for too long. He also misses wide-open players and while he didn’t turn the ball over on Sunday, he typically does.

It’s high past time for the Browns to bench Watson and this latest revelation doesn’t help their case in continuing to start him.