BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson has known Commanders’ two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen for years, but respectfully disagrees with his opinion that Watson lacked confidence during the Browns’ 34-13 loss at Washington on Sunday.
“If I’m being honest, he looked like a player who’s had stuff going on above the shoulders,” Allen said Tuesday on his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan’s The Sports Junkies. “It’s definitely a confidence thing that’s going on. 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.”
Allen had one of the Commanders’ seven sacks on Watson, who’s been dropped for a loss a league-high 26 times this season. The Commanders also hit him 11 times for a league-high total of 64, same as the Raiders the week before.
“I would say that’s the biggest difference,” Allen said. “I think physically – I mean, he’s probably not as athletic as he was six, seven years ago, however long it was – but I think he still has that potential. I don’t know, I don’t know. Football is a weird game, man.”
Allen played against Watson twice in the National Championship Game, with his Alabama Crimson Tide beating Watson’s Clemson’s Tigers, 45-40 in 2016, and Watson getting revenge the next year with a 35-31 victory. Watson threw for 405 yards and four TD in Clemson’s loss, and 420 yards and 3 TDs in Clemson’s victory over the nation’s No. 1 defense.
So Allen knows a thing or two about a confident Watson, and doesn’t believe he saw one on Sunday, a game in which Watson went 15 of 28 for 125 yards with one touchdown and 0 INTs for a 77.2 rating. He was also strip-sacked once, and went 0-for-12 on third down before being replaced by Jameis Winston with 2:28 left in the game.
“Every time I step on the field I’ve just got to be able to go out there and play confident football and just go out there and do my job at the highest ability,” Watson said. “That’s his perspective and things like that. I played against Jonathan Allen multiple times within college and in the NFL, but at the same time when I step on the field I am confident and I just want to go out there and just try to play the best football I can play.”
Watson, gearing up to face the 2-2 Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia, admitted that he may have pressed during the Browns’ third straight loss after they fell behind 17-3 and then 24-3 in the first half.
“You could say that,” he said. “You can say I was trying to do too much, trying to make the big plays, trying to create things where I didn’t need to create things, but at the same time it was just the flow of the game and how the game kind of goes. They got up on us fast and we were trying to get back in the game as soon as possible because in the NFL, every rep and every position possession that you have is very important. And yeah, I think that we’ve just got to simplify it and just take it one play at a time. We’ve got to concentrate and lock in and just have that confidence on that play that we’re going to give 110% and it worry about the next play when it comes.”
Watson, 28th in the NFL with a 74.4 ranking, acknowledged that winning also breeds confidence.
“I don’t think it needs to be an attitude change,” he said. “I just think that we’ve just got to win and that’s what it is. You can’t bring any swagger, you can’t talk or say anything if you’re losing. We’re 1-4 right now, so right now we’ve got to lock in on the game. But once we get on that winning track and we start winning some games and things will start turning and the arrow starts going up, then yeah, you can have that swagger and fun.
“But at the same time, each and every week you’ve got to put the wins and losses to the side and you’ve got to try to be 1-0 that week. So there’s some type of confidence and booster that you’ve got to have stepping on the field and have your own swagger. You can’t change yourself regardless of what is going on around you, but at the same time that winning does bring out that oohs and that aura within the team.”
Watson, who’s blocked out all the national and local calls for his benching, said he’s trying to settle in this week and master the game plan against the Eagles, coming off their bye. The Eagles are surrendering 365.8 yards per game for 27th in the NFL, but have two of the premier tackles in the NFL in Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, and one of the best defensive coordinators in the league in Vic Fangio. The Browns might also be challenged on their interior o-line again, with center Ethan Pocic suffering a knee injury in Washington and rookie Zak Zinter replacing Wyatt Teller (MCL).
“Execute what the defense is going to try to do to us,” Watson said. “Of course, we’ve got to be able to adapt to any adjustments and changes. Those guys in Philly had an off week, so they’ve had time to kind of put some things together. So we’ve just got to be able to follow our base rules, base core and then adjust and make sure that if any changeups that they throw at us. We’ve got to be ready for it and try to execute at the highest level to get some positive and play winning football.”
He hopes the Browns can lean into some things they can be great at this week. So far, those things haven’t presented themselves in the overhauled scheme.
“It definitely goes back to finding those adjustments, finding those things that we want to do and be perfect at those and just make the game simple,” Watson said. “Don’t try to do anything more than what we’ve seen before or what we’re trying to do. Just simplify the game as much as possible so we can go out there, execute and play fast and not put too much thinking into the game.”
And certainly don’t let anyone on the opposing defense say he lacks confidence.
