It was another brutal day for Deshaun Watson as he suffered hits from the opponent and errors from his teammates. (Las Vegas Raiders)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
LAS VEGAS, NV
It was all set up to be Deshaun Watson’s break-through moment.
A single, vintage play to get everyone off his weary back and inject some hope into a season spinning down the drain.
First down from the Browns’ 18. Early fourth quarter, Browns behind by 4 points after their self-inflicted wounds coughed up a 10-0 lead to start the game.
Outside Allegiant Stadium, another 100-degree day sizzled. Inside the dome, Browns fans and Raiders fans were turning hoarse trying to outdo each other with noise.
So Watson accepts the shotgun snap, steps up in the pocket to elude blitzing cornerback Jack Jones, and flings the ball to Amari Cooper, breaking across a wide-open middle of the field. Cooper turns on the jets and runs the rest of the way, 82 yards in all, for the go-ahead touchdown.
For one fleeting moment, Watson found the game he left behind in Houston.
“I guess,” Watson shrugged. “In that moment, I’m just playing football. I’m trying to win.”
But, wait. Nick Harris, filling in at center for injured Ethan Pocic, was flagged for holding defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The play was called back and the Browns would punt.
The next series, Watson’s third-down pass for Jerry Jeudy was about to be clenched by the receiver until safety Isaiah Pola-Mao jolted the ball out with a big hit.
One last time, Watson had a third chance to pull out victory. Just before the 2-minute warning, Jerome Ford’s 35-yard run took the ball to the Raiders’ 16.
Then what? Harris snapped the ball when Watson wasn’t looking and Watson fell on it at the 22. A second-down pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. A completion to Cooper on third down took it to the Raiders’ 9.
Fourth down. Game on the line. Was this it? Would the football gods finally allow Watson to get over the hump?
Fat chance. He was flushed from the pocket, running left, and couldn’t turn and release the ball. Raiders end Charles Snowden caught Watson and buried him for the game-sealing sack.
Game over. Raiders 20, Browns 16.
For the second game in a row, the Browns’ offense failed to take advantage of three possession in the fourth quarter with a chance to win.
It’s almost like it’s not meant to be.
“I don’t think that way,” said left guard Joel Bitonio. “I think we just have to keep executing. I don’t think there’s something out there that’s not letting us execute.”
The self-inflicted errors continued all across the board to result in a second straight loss to an inferior team and drop the record to 1-3.
Defensively, the Browns allowed the Davante Adams-less Raiders to roll up 20 straight points with sloppy tackling that allowed five different ball-carries to rip off runs of 10 or more yards. The killers came on consecutive plays in the third quarter – a 19-yard run by Alexander Mattison followed by an 18-yard romp to the end zone on a sweep run by receiver D.J. Turner.
“Just gotta wrap up,” said defensive end Myles Garrett who had 2 sacks and 3 hits on quarterback Gardner Minshew. “A lot of guys going in with their shoulder trying to make the big hit. For the majority of plays, the second man’s got to be the one to force the ball out. The first guy’s got to wrap up and slow the runner down.”
When that finally happened to start the fourth quarter -- end Isaiah McGuire stripped the ball from Zamir White and safety Rodney McLeod scooped it up and scored with a 25-yard return – Dustin Hopkins missed the PAT wide left.
“I hurt the team today,” said the usually reliable kicker, who made a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter. “I expect better from myself.”
So everyone had a hand, or foot, in another grisly loss.
As usual, it was Watson who suffered the consequences of more breakdowns on the offensive line and another dropped pass by Cooper that ricocheted off his chest and into the arms of safety Tre’von Moehrig for an interception.
Watson was a battler once again, taking short throws to try to stem the Raiders’ rush. Once they built a 20-10 lead, the Raiders increased their pressure packages and put a beating on the quarterback. Despite not having injured star rusher Maxx Crosby, the Raiders sacked Watson 3 times and knocked him down 11 other times.
A Dawand Jones whiff resulted in one pulverizing hit on Watson in the first half. And even after Harris was holding the onrushing Wilkins, the defensive tackle played through it and buried Watson into the floor.
“I didn’t know it was on me until after the game,” Harris said. “Just unfortunate.”
“That’s how they’re calling it, I guess,” Bitonio said sternly. “We watch Myles get held all the time. Sometimes you got to let them play football. He tried to let him go. He didn’t impede him. He still hit the quarterback.”
Asked for his observation, Garrett said, “As a man said before me, I like my money. I’ve seen worse. I’ve experienced worse. That was a hell of a play to take back. But we have to continue to execute.”
With the easy portion of the schedule ending in D.C. next week, where the suddenly explosive Washington Commanders await, where’s the encouragement for the Browns?
For one thing, there’s help on the way with tight end David Njoku, tackles Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin (I know, I know) and possibly running back Nick Chubb returning to practice. Chubb might be at least 3 weeks away, however.
And there’s that one play that Watson made. Even if it didn’t count, it offered the hope that he still has it in him.
“That’s why we know we have to protect forever, because we know he can make those plays and be a playmaker for us,” Bitonio said. “I saw the flag. I was hoping it was a roughing call or something. It wasn’t meant to be.”
Yeah, that’s the thing. It wasn’t meant to be. When will it be meant to be?