Losing to Steelers is Bad, Losing Nick Chubb is Worse, but Browns Don't have a QB

The Cleveland Browns loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers game was a disaster. They lost the game, lost Nick Chubb likely for the season, but worst of all, the game showed that currently this team doesn't have a quarterback.

As things currently stand, the Browns have given up countless draft picks and are contracted to pay $230 million for a quarterback who cannot play. In a game where the Browns lost their star running back Nick Chubb likely for the season and was theirs for the taking on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Deshaun Watson was simply awful.

It's not entirely his fault and maybe it will change with time, but the Browns currently don't have a quarterback.

The six games last year were chalked up to rust. The performance against the Cincinnati Bengals was dismissed largely due to rain that also limited Joe Burrow. But in a game that was served on a platter for the Browns to win where weather wasn't a factor, Watson was a complete and total fraud.

He's everything that his detractors wanted him to be after countless accusations of sexual assault and misconduct.

Much like his off-field behavior, Watson keeps making poor decisions, which often manifested in holding onto the ball endlessly on plays that had little if any chance of success. He was also late on some throws that were there to be had.

There are flashes, some excellent throws, which makes the struggles all the more frustrating. In this game, he was called for not one but two facemask penalties, which were instrumental in killing drives.

It's not like the Browns can bench Watson. They have too much invested in him. This is the choice they made and they have to live with it. They have to keep going and hope that somehow he starts to play better.

The Browns are in the exact same place as the New York Jets, hoping that somehow Zach Wilson will just be average enough to allow the rest of the team to drag him to victory.

The only other option right now is going with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the rookie who lit up the preseason and making that switch would be throwing up the white flag; an admission that Watson is a complete and total disaster, the kind that often ends up with people losing jobs.

The Browns came into this season with a loaded roster. Everything was riding on the quarterback. Even with a healthy Nick Chubb, it was supposed to be Watson's team. Without Chubb, there was nowhere for Watson to hide and he was ghastly.

The Steelers defense deserves credit for the plays they were able to make including a pair of a pair of defensive touchdowns which bookended the game and led them to carried them to victory. Watson threw an interception and lost two fumbles, plays the Steelers were able to make.

None of that changes how bad Watson performed outplayed by Kenny Pickett who was terrible in his own right. Pickett's poor play could at least be couched in the fact he only had one turnover, an interception to Grant Delpit in the first quarter. The Browns were unable to capitalize on it, going nowhere, missing the resulting field goal attempt.

The Browns don't have Nick Chubb and they don't have a quarterback in a season steeped in expectations. This was to be a playoff team and granted, the loss of Chubb is a hardship this team was going to have to bare even if Watson was everything they hoped he would be. Now, they have six days to prepare for a Tennessee Titans team that doesn't care about the issues the Browns are currently fighting through.