Deshaun Watson shows improvement in tough loss

Despite the loss, the Browns still departed Cincinnati with one big silver-lining — QB Deshaun Watson looked much better than he did a week ago than his debut in Houston.

Watson completed 26 of 42 pass attempts for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception and delivered several throws that looked similar to the ones he was able to complete before his 700-day gap between NFL starts. He also rushed six times for 33 yards. His footwork and throwing motions were much improved compared to last week, when several of his passes were off-target and prevented the offense from finding a rhythm.

The Browns will still need Watson to do much more to consistently compete with a team as talented as the Bengals, but it’s a step in the right direction that the Browns needed to see.

“Most definitely,” Watson said when asked if he felt more comfortable. “Just keep letting the game come to me. That’s going to continue to speed up the process and the game plan. Each week, it’s going to get a little bit better and a little bit better.”

Watson found his first passing touchdown with the Browns in the third quarter with a 13-yard connection to David Njoku, whose reception was the third of three consecutive completions from Watson and capped arguably the best-looking offensive sequence in the game. Watson hit Njoku for a 6-yard completion on fourth down to keep the drive alive, then found him again for 14 yards to set up the touchdown.

But on the next offense series, Watson threw his first interception with the Browns. He was looking deep for Donovan Peoples-Jones but didn’t anticipate the coverage from Bengals S Jessie Bates III, who was roaming in the deep part of the field and raced over in time to cut the pass off.

“I was late,” Watson said. “We had a post going, and the backside safety, Bates, cut it a little bit … I can’t do that. I probably should’ve just taken the checkdown. I felt like I could make that throw, and I have to make that throw.”

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