Commanders' Jonathan Allen Has Simple Explanation for Deshaun Watson's On-Field Struggles

The Washington Pro Bowler helped power his defense to seven sacks against Cleveland on Sunday.

Oct 6, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) passes the ball under pressure form Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders dominated the Cleveland Browns on Sunday thanks in part to a tremendous effort by the defensive front. The Commanders sacked Deshaun Watson a whopping seven times in the 34-13 win. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen recorded one of those on his own and played a big role in consistently pressuring the oft-maligned quarterback, whose seat is as hot as it can possibly get after an awful start to the 2024 season.

In a radio interview with 106.7 The Fan on Tuesday, Allen offered a rather frank evaluation of what's plaguing Watson— a lack of confidence.

"If I'm being honest, he looked like a player who's had stuff going on above the shoulders," Allen said per The Fan. "It's definitely a confidence thing that's going on. I always tell people, it doesn't matter how great a player you are, if you don't have confidence, you're not a good player.

"Mentally, if you're not good up top like you're not gonna be confident, you're not gonna be playing free, you're gonna be thinking, you're gonna be reacting slower. So I would say that's probably the biggest difference for him right now."

So far in 2024 Watson is on pace to break the all-time sack and yards lost due to sack records. His Browns offense has yet to score more than 18 points in one game and the team resides in the basement of the AFC North. Regardless of the why, he's playing poorly enough that the season is on the verge of disaster after only five weeks.

If Allen is right, Watson needs to regain his confidence if the Browns have any hope of competing this year.

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