Deshaun Watson is facing criticism from many directions, not just during games.
The quarterback’s poor performance over five games—where he hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in any game—has led to calls for the Browns to replace him with backup Jameis Winston.
The pressure on him is unrelenting.
Whether it’s national analysts pointing out his missed open receivers, Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen saying Watson seems to have lost his confidence, or frustrated fans in Cleveland expressing their dissatisfaction, Watson is feeling the heat.
“I don’t hear it. I don’t see it,” he said on Wednesday. “I’m not on Twitter. I’m not on any social media or things like that.” That seems like a wise choice.
Watson has been sacked a league-high 26 times, which has put the Browns (1-4) in a tough spot as they get ready for their game against the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) this week, after a bye.
The Browns have invested $230 million in Watson, along with trading three first-round draft picks, so they feel they must keep playing him until he improves, gets injured, or his performance gets worse.
Watson has one of the lowest quarterback ratings in the league (74.4) with just four touchdown passes in five games. He often looks unsettled in the pocket, running away at the first sign of trouble. At other times, he has been hesitant or inaccurate.
In the 34-13 loss to the Commanders on Sunday, Watson completed 15 of 28 passes for only 125 yards and missed spotting receiver Jerry Jeudy, who was wide open in the end zone, despite his teammate waving for the ball for what should have been an easy touchdown.
While critics have pointed out that play this week, there have been many other mistakes.
“At this position, no one’s perfect,” Watson said about the criticism. “No one’s going to always make the right read, so you can pick apart one play here and there, but I think it’s about the overall performance of the whole game.”
Earlier this week, Allen mentioned on a radio show that Watson isn’t playing like he used to.
“If I’m being honest, he looked like a player who’s had stuff going on above the shoulders,” Allen said. “It’s definitely a confidence thing. 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.”
