CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns suffered their sixth loss this season in a 21-14 defeat to the Bengals on Sunday.
There were numerous storylines going into the game: Nick Chubb’s return, Joe Burrow having not won a game in Cleveland, and Ja’Marr Chase vs. the Browns defensive backs.
But the one storyline that overshadowed them all is the Achilles injury Deshaun Watson suffered.
Here’s how Cincinnati reacted to defeating Cleveland on Sunday, and Watson’s injury:
Reaction to Watson’s injury
The second-quarter drive was Cleveland’s most productive series up to that point, as Watson was finding targets and had recorded 42 passing yards during the series.
The Browns eventually approached a second and 6, and it looked to be a quarterback draw for Watson. But in the split second between dropping back and looking to move forward, Watson’s Achilles snapped, and he immediately went down to the ground.
Cincinnati’s B.J. Hill, who seemed to have an opening to Watson before Michael Dunn came in to block, was the closest Bengal to Watson when the injury happened, and he’d described what he saw.
“(Watson) kind of like slipped back, fell, tried to get back up. You hate to see such a great player go down like that with an injury like that,” Hill said. “Nothing but prayers to him, hopefully he’ll return back soon.”
Cincinnati’s Sam Hubbard was fighting around the left edge with Jack Conklin, so his vision of the moment wasn’t as clear. He’d get around and see the ball on the ground, quickly jumping on it, before realizing Watson was down.
“I was right there going for the ball. I didn’t see what happened, just saw him go down. I didn’t see anything,” Hubbard said.
Defensive end Trey Hendrickson decided to sit back during the play, and also ran quickly to the ball before Hubbard jumped on it.
“It’s a physical game and we all know what we signed up for. Praying for (Watson) and his family as he goes through this adversity,” Hendrickson said. “He’s going to bounce back. He’s a great competitor, a great quarterback, and I look forward to seeing him taking the field again.”
Burrow watched the moment from the sideline with his offensive unit.
“I don’t want to see anyone go down, It’s always tough. We know everybody’s out there putting their bodies on the line for their families, for themselves, for the fans. So whenever you see somebody go down, it’s tough. Whether it’s your guy, the other guy, quarterback, D-line. It doesn’t matter. It’s always tough.”
Defense side
Once Watson went down, in came backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson in his season debut.
Cincinnati did its job in making Thompson-Robinson uncomfortable, keeping him to a 45.8% completion rate and two interceptions.
One of those picks hit the hands of Cedric Tillman, jumped into the air and eventually fell in the hands of Hubbard, who had himself a productive day with three tackles, one pass defended, one sack and his first career interception.
“That was my first legit pick, for sure. You know, going up and getting it with a broken finger. It was sweet, felt great. We worked those drills and we coached up every Friday and finally paid off,” Hubbard said.
Coming into Sunday, Cincinnati ranked 27th in rushing yards allowed (146.0). With the return of Nick Chubb, the expectation was the Browns would go heavy on the run game.
“We knew Nick Chubb was gonna be back. We knew they were gonna try to lean on him early,” said defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins, who had three tackles and one sack. “The sense of urgency was high to just kind of take control of the game from the beginning, and not allow them to dictate through being able to run the ball.
Cincinnati’s defensive backs did their job as well on Sunday. Though the Browns’ receiving corps finished with 277 yards, 98 came in the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Mike Hilton, who finished with five tackles, was pleased with his unit’s performance after a rough start to the season.
“For the first five weeks, I’m pretty sure everybody’s idea was ‘this defense can’t get it together.’ We’ve been playing well the last two weeks. I like the direction we’re headed but we still gotta get better,” Hilton said.
Offense side
Burrow got his second career win vs. the Browns, and his first win in Cleveland.
“That’s a really, really good defense, the best one we have played all year,” Burrow said. “Their secondary is great, the rush is great, their linebackers play fast and physical. We know it’s going to be that kind of game.”
The first half was a different story for him and his unit, as he was sacked three times and had trouble connecting with his targets. Cincinnati’s seven first-half points came off Charlie Jones’ opening kickoff touchdown return; nothing from the offense.
Burrow knew that had to change.
“We just didn’t make any plays that you have to do against these guys… they’re going to stop the run, they’re going to rush the passer, and their secondary is going to be all around the ball. There’s going to be some 50-50 balls,” Burrow said. “They’re going to grab you and hold you. They’re going to be physical at the top of the route. (You’ve) got to be accurate with the ball, and we just didn’t do that in the first half.”
Burrow threw to Ja’Marr Chase for 18-yard touchdown, and to Tee Higgins for a 25-yarder.
“It was a hard fought battle the whole game, (Cleveland) did not make it easy at all,” Higgins said. “We just wanted to come out and try and dominate the (second) half. Obviously we left a lot out there in the first half, and we wanted to come out in the second half and dominate.”