Deshaun Watson is the Cleveland Browns X-Factor to Close the Season, Despite Rusty Reclamation

Cleveland Browns success to end the season rides on the shoulders of Deshaun Watson.

Brandon Little | Dec 22, 2022

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Cleveland Browns

Deshaun Watson is off to a shaky start after resuming live NFL action for the first time in 700 days. He's now made three starts for the Cleveland Browns, his third is on Christmas Eve against the New Orleans Saints, a team that was in the mix to acquire him. Despite the shaky start, Watson is an X-Factor in who the Browns can be the rest of the season.

There is no hiding the fact that Watson is the future of the team, or they hope for him to be at least. You don't make the biggest trade in franchise history, or give out the richest NFL contract to be anything short of the face of the franchise. It was expected that there would be an acclimation period for Watson to return to the Pro Bowl caliber of play he was once at, as recent as the 2020 campaign.

From his first start against the Houston Texans to the most recent one against Baltimore, Watson has shown improvement. The Ravens made Cleveland beat them through the air at times, and they did just that. Nick Chubb did not get going until late, which is a testament to how much he can wear down a defense.

When Watson needed to step up and make a throw, he did just that.

Hitting Amari Cooper on the sideline with a small window between the out-of-bounds and defender is what you want to see out of Watson. Those are big-time throws that franchise quarterbacks make time and time again.

It will be the Saints, Washington Commanders, and Pittsburgh Steelers in these last three games for Watson. All three teams will have some talent on the defensive side of the ball, so it'll be a good gauge of this offense.

Despite the offense being shaky since Watson took over, including just one touchdown in 28 drives at one time, things look to be on the brink of breaking. The quarterback running lanes are there and Watson is hitting them. He's beginning to look more comfortable, he's on target a ton more.

Cleveland still has playoff aspirations, even if they're very small at this point. Whether those are in the picture or not shouldn't change the fact that Watson should have a chance to play freely and show who he can be down the last three games of the season.

Building a connection with players like Cooper and David Njoku would be big going into the future. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Watson have already shown to have a connection on the gridiron. These are the kind of things that will make excitement pour out heading into the 2023 season when the Browns have realistic expectations.

There is nothing wrong with expecting Watson to play well in the last couple of games of the season, it could mean a lot for this team whether they are playing in mid-January or not.

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Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter @BrandonLittleFB here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter here.

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