Deshaun Watson's Achilles tendon injury brought a hush to a crowd that had booed throughout the first half.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst of the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Instant takeaways from Browns 21-14 loss to Cincinnati Bengals …
1. Now what?: Everyone can get off Deshaun Watson’s back now. The embattled Browns’ quarterback is likely out for the year after suffering a blown right Achilles tendon on a non-contact play late in the first half. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was promoted to QB2 ahead of Jameis Winston at the start of the day, finished the touchdown drive started by Watson before his injury. Nick Chubb scored from 1 yard out in his first game back. Joe Burrow survived another rough day against the Browns’ defense and escaped with his first career win in Cleveland, 21-14. Burrow threw TDs to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in the third quarter to pull away in front of a crowd that celebrated Chubb’s return early and wondered after the Watson injury where the team’s QB situation goes from here. DTR had some good gains on RPO runs but struggled connecting with his receivers. He threw for 82 yards and was intercepted twice. DTR left with a finger injury with 3:43 to play. Winston came in and cobbled together a scoring drive to probably earn a start against the Ravens next week. David Njoku rose high to catch Winston's TD at the back of the end zone from 9 yards out. The Browns’ declared onside kick was unsuccessful, effectively ending the proceedings.The Browns fell to 1-6 after their fifth loss in a row – longest streak under Kevin Stefanski. The Bengals rose to 3-4 with their second win in a row.
2. Down he goes: Watson was moving the Browns the best he had all day when the injury occurred. Completions of 13 yards to David Njoku, 8 to Elijah Moore and 21 to Jordan Akins took the Browns to the Bengals’ 25. One play later, Watson dropped back to pass and when he moved forward, his right Achilles tendon popped and his right knee buckled. Before long, the entire Browns sideline – players, coaches, trainers, equipment personnel – surrounded Watson on the field as medics tended and lifted him to the cart. On the way off the field, Watson could be seen crying into a towel draped over his head. For the half, Watson was 15 of 17 for 128 yards and a 98.0 passer rating.
3. SIWs: The Browns blew a scoring opportunity on their first possession of the second half. DTR’s 34-yard RPO run had them off and running. Another DTR keeper for 14 yards was nullified by an illegal shift penalty. Came down to fourth-and-2 at the Bengals 35. Kevin Stefanski went for it and lined up Chubb in front of D’Onta Foreman in the backfield. DTR play-faked to Foreman and threw short for Chubb. Burrow finally woke up and moved the Bengals 65 yards for the touchdown. Burrow laid it in on Ja’Marr Chase's back shoulder from 18 yards for the TD. Greg Newsome in coverage.
4. Buzz kill: The Browns played great defense against Burrow the first half but still trailed, 7-6. Charlie Jones’ 100-yard return on the opening kickoff stood as Cincinnati’s only score. Burrow was 8 of 15 for 81 yards and sacked 3 times as the Bengals posted only 86 yards total offense. After Watson’s injury, Thompson-Robinson came in and drew a Cedric Tillman pass interference call on D.J. Turner in the end zone. It took four plays then to cross the goal line – fittingly on a Chubb 1-yard scamper around left end with tight end Geoff Swaim lead-blocking. But Dustin Hopkins’ pull-yanked the PAT.
5. Stop the presses!: Be it recorded that with 4:17 to play in the second quarter, Watson executed a quarterback sneak. He gained 2 yards for the first down. First time we’ve seen that.
6. Razzle-dazzle ding dong: Here’s a play we might not see again for some time: From the Bengals 30 on second-and-3 in the first quarter, Watson motioned out of the backfield, leaving Chubb to take the direct snap. Chubb handed to Elijah Moore motioning behind him and Moore flipped the ball back to Watson. Watson threw for Cedric Tillman breaking to the end zone, but Tillman couldn’t track the ball and it fell incomplete.
7. What’s the deal here?: Two plays after the razzle-dazzle play, the Browns settled for a 49-yard field goal try. We took these for granted last year. But Hopkins was wide left. Hopkins now has missed as many field goals this year (three) as all of last season. Hopkins was 30 of 33 last year; 10 of 13 after this miss. (Later he missed a PAT wide left.)
8. Chubb’s debut: The beginning of the game was all about Chubb. The Browns risked some boos by introducing the offensive team, but Chubb coming out last received a standing ovation. Chubb presided over the coin toss as a game captain. And when the Browns ran their first play from scrimmage, it was Watson play-faking to Chubb, looking for Jerry Jeudy in deep middle, and then checking down to Chubb. It was off his hands. And, yes, there were boos after the first play. For the game, Chubb had 22 yards and 1 TD on 11 carries, and 1 reception for 10 yards.
9. Defer this: It’s a rarity, nowadays, but Jones’ 100-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff gives me the opportunity to rant, “Take the ball first and score.” The Browns won the toss, deferred and kicked off. Jones blasted through a crater-sized seam around the 30-yard line and accelerated down the right sideline. At the end, Tony Brown had an angle and tried to shove him out of bounds inside the 5, but Jones did a tight-rope balancing act and dived for the pylon for the touchdown. 7-0, Bengals, in 12 seconds of game time.
10. Pre-game notes: The big surprise on the inactive list was Jameis Winston listed as the third quarterback. Which means Dorian Thompson-Robinson surpassed him as the No. 2 QB -- at least for this day. Also, defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson was a healthy scratch for the second week in a row. Inactives: Winston, Jefferson, cornerback Kahlef Hailassie, safety Ronnie Hickman, running back Jerome Ford, and linebacker Nathaniel Watson.