DESHAUN Watson was caught in a moment of chaos that saw him walk off the field in the middle of the Cleveland Browns’ defeat to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Watson found himself having to leave the huddle and head to the sidelines in the third quarter, causing confusion in the stands.
Deshaun Watson and Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski have cleared up the confusion from their blunder during defeat to the Washington Commanders[/caption]
Trailing by 21 points in the third quarter, the Browns offense stayed on the field at fourth-and-goal to try and start a miracle comeback.
But before they could even get a snap away, Watson was trudging off the field and the Browns opted to kick a field goal – leaving fans concerned that he Watson given up on the team.
However, head coach Kevin Stefanski has now revealed that wasn’t the case at all, and instead Watson was trying to save his side from a penalty.
Speaking after the 34-13 thrashing, Stefanski explained that his side had 12 men in the huddle and as the play clock ticked down they were putting themselves at risk of punishment.
He said: “We had the wrong amount of people in the huddle, and then at that point, we were just going to kick the field goal.
“Obviously we had penalties and some miscommunications which are completely on me.
“I’ll take responsibility for all of that. That looks like losing football to me, I’ll get it fixed.”
It wasn’t the only time that the Browns were caught with 12 players on the field either, and Stefanski vented his frustrations at the errors.
Stefanski explained what led to the moment of madness[/caption]
He added: “It is really frustrating, we will get that fixed. Before we beat anybody, you have to stop beating yourself.
“We need to play better as an offense, we need to coach better as an offense.”
The Browns are now 1-4 after their opening five games after they were taught a lesson by the Commanders who were led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Watson cut a frustrated figure himself after the defeat and echoed a similar sentiment to Stefanski during his post-match interview.
The 29-year-old said: “We shoot ourselves in the foot. It is tough.
“The offense is going to go as far as I go. So, at the end of the day, we’re not doing enough offensively. We have got to figure it out quickly.”
While he also went some way to explaining the mess that saw him have to leave the field, adding: “Too many men on the huddle and that was it.
“We just have got to lock in, that’s all I can say right now.”
After Watson left the field the Browns were forced to take a 5-yard delay penalty and settle for a field goal.
Watson has taken the blame for the Browns’ shortcomings in recent times with the star QB unable to live up to the expectations that came with his $230MILLION contract.
But Stefanski has stood firm that he won’t be dropping the three-time Pro Bowler.
When quizzed on the possibility of playing a different quarterback, he defiantly responded: “We’re not changing quarterbacks.
“We need to play better. I need to coach better. That’s really what it is.”
Stefanski has backed his own decision to keep Watson as his starting quarterback[/caption]
