After finishing the game with a very lousy 5-of-12 for 36 yards and a touchdown, Deshaun Watson did not hold back with his unhappiness with the fans and their reactions to him. Quotes such as “it’s a disrespect thing,” “this is the same fanbase that cheered when I got hurt,” and “might have to play 17 road games next year.”
Not the things you want to hear from your potential starting quarterback.
It was a really bizarre day in Cleveland on Saturday. All of the positive that could have come from a decent performance from Shedeur Sanders all got flushed down the drain when Watson checked into the game and was serenaded to the symphony of boos.
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It didn’t get any better. The boos got louder after the first three-and-out, then even louder after the second three-and-out. Finally, after Watson’s horrible interception, the crowd was a mixed bag of boos and cheers, all telling the same story.
The Browns fanbase spoke up, and Watson heard it.
The way Watson conducted his press conference was unlike anything that I have ever seen before. It’s rare to see a player directly and intentionally drive a wedge between himself and the fans rooting for him. It was a special performance at the microphone, and the backlash against Watson is pretty unanimous. There isn’t anyone in the general public who is on his side it seems.
Now, two things can be true at once. I firmly do believe that the fans who cheered when he tore his Achilles two years ago were well beyond the line. I really don’t care about personal feelings when it comes to injury. Under no circumstances should that be celebrated.
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Take that part out; all of the rest of it is justified.
Four seasons, 19 games, a 9-10 record, just 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The numbers are almost too unbelievable to type out. Not only that, an era-defining offensive line gone to waste; franchise players such as Myles Garrett and David Njoku shipped out of town, and an entire era was wasted.
It’s hard to fault the Browns for the move they made in 2022. They felt they needed a tier-one quarterback to push their elite roster over the finish line, and they were right. They gambled on the wrong guy, and ever since, it’s been a total disaster.
The Browns fans are fed up with the player and the person they have been forced to root for for the last four years and hear about the contract and all of the alleged wrongdoings, with the trade-off being one year of success thanks to Joe Flacco.
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This feels like it should mark the end of the Deshaun Watson era, as Browns fans said on Saturday. They are done with it, and it sounds like the quarterback is, too.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns’ Deshaun Watson does not hold back personal feelings after loss
