After 693 days away from the NFL regular season, Deshaun Watson finally returned to the Cleveland Browns’ starting lineup. But it didn’t take long for things to go sideways. Watson was sacked five times, and Cleveland fell into a 24-0 hole before finally finding its first down midway through the second quarter. By the end of the Browns’ 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Watson had become the target of widespread criticism. But even then, his longtime private QB coach, Quincy Avery, wasn’t buying it.
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While admitting Watson had things to clean up, Avery argued that critics were missing what the game tape actually showed.
“I do understand people not liking Deshaun, etc. I also don’t think you guys watched the same tape. I also saw things he def need to do better. But the way you guys are talking about it makes it obvious you didn’t watch it with an honest perspective,” Quincy Avery wrote on X.
Following an early turnover, Cleveland’s entire offense stalled. By the time the blowout finally ended, Watson had surprisingly emerged as Cleveland’s leading rusher with 38 rushing yards. On paper, Deshaun Watson’s stat line from the night looked deceptively respectable. He threw for 205 passing yards, 1 passing TD, and was picked off once by the Jaguars defense. Despite this, context tells a different story altogether.
Jaguars’ Foyesade Oluokun picked off Watson early on his first offensive drive, and Jacksonville recorded 5 sacks. Per Next Gen Stats, Watson completed just 1-of-5 passes that traveled 10 air yards or more during the 1st half of the game.
Quincy Avery has coached Deshaun Watson since his high school days, playing a major role in his development through a Clemson national championship and in making him the 3x consecutive Pro Bowl QB that he is today. So while Avery might have seen Deshaun Watson’s Week 1 performance in a different light, most analysts didn’t quite agree with him.
NFL analyst Sam Monson bluntly called out the performance on X, writing, “Watson was an embarrassment yesterday. Truly awful QB performance.” Meanwhile, Cleveland radio host Daryl Ruiter pointed out, “QB coach paid to say nice things about a QB he coaches,” also sarcastically adding that the “almost 4” turnovers were downright impressive.
Other media voices pushed back just as hard against Avery’s claims. Front Office Sports writer Ryan Glasspiegel stated, “The tape watchers love to gaslight us about our lying eyes.”
Following the Week 1 collapse, Browns HC Todd Monken issued a firm reality check, stating that the team will be analyzing how they do everything, offensively and defensively, further adding, “Deshaun is part of that.”
Monken also revealed that the Browns will go through the tape before making the trip to Tampa Bay for their Week 2 clash.