The Cleveland Browns look to improve to 1-1 on the season as they head to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in Week 2. A win would be huge since it would help them move past their abysmal start to the season. A loss, on the other hand, could be devastating.
An 0-2 start wouldn’t be impossible to overcome but with the drama already surrounding the franchise, they’ll be hard-pressed to get things back on track should that happen.
That’s why the coaching staff needs to be hard at work trying to find a way to correct these three pressing issues ahead of Week 2.
3. Offensive line play
The offensive line was simply offensive on Sunday.
Much of the attention was focused on the tackles, especially with Jedrick Wills, Jr. and Jack Conklin out. But the entire line struggled and the issues were in both pass protection and the ground game.
Deshaun Watston didn’t help since he held onto the ball far too long and seemed allergic to the pocket but there weren’t nearly enough lanes for their running backs to move the chains. The good news is that the talent is there and this was once the strength of the team. That should give them hope that they can get things back on track.
2. The butterfingers
Deshaun Watson has taken the blame for the struggles in the passing game, which is fair. But he wasn’t alone on Sunday.
Cleveland had four dropped passes, with Elijah Moore dropping two while Amari Cooper and David Njoku each had one. Cooper’s was especially troublesome since he could have scored a touchdown had he hauled in his drop.
Perhaps the early issues took them out of rhythm but if the Browns want to win this weekend, they need to make sure to hold onto the ball when it hits their hands.
1. Deshaun Watson
While Cleveland needs to address the first two problems, this is the one that will matter most. Deshaun Watson was awful in Week 1 and anyone who is still clinching to his 2020 tape as a reason for hope needs to stop. What he showed on Sunday was the same thing the Browns have seen for the past three seasons. He’s inaccurate, struggles to read the defense, and is simply an awful fit in Kevin Stefanski’s offense.
All throughout the offseason, we heard that Cleveland could win with average quarterback play. There was also a strong belief Watson could provide that. Heading into Week 2, we’re already re-thinking if this is asking too much. It might be, but if the Browns want to make any noise this season, they have to figure it out with No. 4. Or maybe they should seriously consider moving on.
