LAS VEGAS — Deshaun Watson, who was hit hard 11 times after the throw, was unable to overcome the pick that went off Amari Cooper’s hands, a bad snap, a holding call, a missed block, and other mistakes during Sunday’s 20-16 loss to the Raiders.
The turning point of the game came with 7:59 left in the third quarter when his is pass over the deep middle popped off Cooper’s chest and was picked off Tre’von Moehring and returned 16 yards to the Raiders 48. Six players later, DJ Turner ran around left end for a 18-yard touchdown, breaking three tackles along the way. That put the Raiders up 20-10 — after trailing 10-0 in the first quarter — and the Browns never recovered.
“I mean, there was nothing really to speak on,” Watson said. “I really didn’t see the interception until afterwards. I saw it on a Jumbotron and then the touchdown, I didn’t see the flag, so I don’t know what the ref saw. So yeah, I can’t do anything else about that.”
They had their chances thereafter, but mistakes derailed them every time.
With 10:16 left in the game and the Browns trailing 20-16, Watson hit Cooper with another great pass down the right side in full stride at the Browns’ 45. He turned on the Jets and took it to the house for an 82-yard touchdown catch and what could’ve been the gamewinning points. But Nick Harris was called for holding on the play against defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who drilled Watson hard after the throw anyway.
“I’m going to come back to him and all my guys,” Watson said. “If something happens, I mean I’m going to need ‘em so I can’t just shut anybody out. I believe in all my guys, all my teammates, regardless of one bad play or not. It is hard to be perfect in this league, but that’s what we’re striving for. So the opportunity’s going to come back up and it did, but it got called back.”
The wiped-out TD pass was vintage Watson, escaping two defenders and making a pinpoint pass while scrambling to his right.
“I mean I guess at the moment I’m just playing football so I’m just trying to win and execute honestly,” he said.
Like last week’s 21-15 loss to the Giants, Watson had three chances to pull it out in the fourth quarter, but the mistakes were too much to overcome, including possibly his own on the final play.
A third-down pass down the deep right side to Jerry Jeudy was broken up when a defender got his helmet on the ball, and after the two-minute warning, Harris sailed the snap past Watson, who fell on it for a 6 yard loss. Next play, his pass to Jordan Akins was batted down.
“I think it was just miscommunication,” Watson said. “Just got to execute better, be more locked in.”
Finally with one last chance for the gamewinning TD, Watson took a 10-yard sack on fourth and 3 from the 9 with Akins seemingly open in the end zone.
“You’ve just got to give the Raiders all the credit,” he said. “That was it. They got to me before anything happened.”
Watson (24 of 34, 176 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 84.9 rating, 32 yards rushing) put the onus on himself for the 1-3 record and loss to the Raiders.
“Just everything,” he said. “We’re not doing enough. So it starts with me. If I’m going to be the quarterback of this offense, we’ve all got to be all the way locked in and right now we’re not doing enough to get the W. So you can put it on me for sure.”
He reserved judgement on the impact it will have to get David Njoku, Jed Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin back next week. Nick Chubb will also return to practice this week.
“We’ll see,” he said. “You’ve got to take it one day at a time, so my job is just taking it one day at a time and if whoever’s out there on the field, I’ve got to focus on those 11 guys. So we’d definitely love to have all those guys back and it definitely will help, but we’ll see.”
