Watson silences doubters with clutch 4th-quarter win

CLEVELAND, Ohio — During the fourth quarter of the Browns’ 21-18 upset of the Panthers in the home opener, Deshaun Watson heard the chants that once seemed impossible at Huntington Bank Field: “Let’s go Watson! Let’s go Watson.” It was so overwhelming that Watson got emotional on the field. “It was great,” Watson said of the chants. “It was amazing. I just wanted to finish the job for them. There was one moment where I got a little teary eyed, feeling that energy. I’ve put in so much work to get here, to be in this moment here and to be able to show I can finish these drives, and finish these games to get W’s for this city and this organization.”‘It is what it is’: The Panthers’ reaction to Sunday’s game-changing penalty that benefited the BrownsDeshaun Watson, defense lead Browns to win over Panthers: Postgame Report (Video)Watch Todd Monken’s postgame speech after the Browns beat the PanthersThe moist eyes were also for “all the hard work, belief, prayers, everything that I have put myself through the last 22 months. To be able to stand in front of the crowd on that field and to finish the job. I want to keep improving and keep trying to get better each and every day, each week and we have a big one on Thursday.”The Watson chants came as he ran back onto the field after being replaced by Shedeur Sanders for a play when he lost his breath on a hit that drew a decisive roughing the passer call. For once, the cheers weren’t for Sanders, and Watson didn’t get booed as took the reins again — or at least the cheers drowned out most of the boos. Buoyed by the energy of the crowd, Watson eluded two rushers, scrambled left through a small hole, and let it rip to Harold Fannin Jr. on the left side of the end zone for the game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass. He punctuated it with a two-point pass to rookie receiver Denzel Boston in the back of the end zone to produce the final margin. The defense closed it out with not one but two sensational stops that enabled Watson to kneel down on the field in thanks and then hoist the game ball as he ran off the field to wild cheers. It was his second straight fourth-quarterback comeback, including last week’s win in Tampa.“Just, from all the adversity that I’ve dealt with over the years and be able to finish out a game like this, regardless of the energy the outside might feel or see, it just shows the character and the person I am, and how strong mentally I am, and that regardless of what’s going on I’m going to fight like hell to get the W,” he said. “It was a great win, definitely one of the top ones, super fun, and hell, let’s go Cleveland, for sure. It’s for the city, most definitely.”Heading into the game, Watson didn’t know what to expect. He hadn’t played in front of the home crowd since they booed him during the preseason loss to the Bills on Aug. 22. Afterwards, he criticized fans for booing him, calling it “personal” and “disrespectful.” Todd Monken named him the starter anyway and urged Watson to “let it rip” in the opener and “what do you have to fear?”He took the advice to heart, and won over many Browns fans who needed to see a gutsy, come-from-behind victory like this.“Yes – the moment I woke up, the anticipation, the anxiousness, everything,” Watson said. “Just get in front of the fans, just to get here, and get started. I wanted to play perfect so bad, it’s the NFL. That’s the way the game’s going to go. Ups and downs. The energy, the fans, it was amazing. They kept believing in us, they kept the energy up. I know there was a little lull in the game, but that’s going to happen.”Watson received a warm embrace from Browns GM Andrew Berry as he ran through the tunnel into the locker room, and Monken awarded him a game ball, as he did key members of the defense and defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg. After the game, Cavs guard James Harden, who was in attendance, walked briskly through the corridor yelling, “Deshaun Watson, baby!” Browns linebacker Quincy Williams, who led the team with nine tackles, gained a newfound respect for his QB1.“Man, I can speak to just him as a person, especially how the media and the fans do him and stuff like that,” he said. “He takes that on the chin. He still comes out here and fights for us, fight for these fans, bro. Fights for everybody, bro. So he’s a real dude for that. I respect him for that.”In improving the Browns to 2-1 and setting up a first-place showdown with the Steelers here on Thursday night, Watson went 16 of 30 for 144 yards with two touchdowns — both to Fannin — for a 88.8 rating. He also ran 11 times for 45 yards, and used his legs as weapons on the game-winning touchdown pass and a scramble for 20 yards to the Panthers’ 24 on third down. “It just broke down, I found a lane,” Watson said of the TD. “During that whole drive, I just told the offensive line that if something happens, give me a lane and I’m going to make something happen with my feet. We practice the scramble drill all the time. Harold (7 of 9 targets, 51 yards, 2 TDs) found a lane and I just put the ball in the air and gave him a chance.”Watson also scrambled three times for first downs in the first half, including runs of 8 and 12 yards on his opening drive that got the crowd behind him. He said his surgeon, Dr. Robert Anderson, has assured him that he can trust the twice-repaired Achilles and run with abandon. “That’s one of his superpowers,” Monken said. “As he continues to learn the system and gets his eyes right and gets his drops right, he’s always going to have the ability to make plays with his legs, as he did last week, he did this week.”Monken acknowledged that the passing game must improve, “but we’re going to continue to fight.”Hitting a cold spell in the third quarter, Watson went 2 of 5 for 7 yards and a 47.9 rating, and went three-and-out three times. He also found KC Concepcion on only 2 of 9 targets for 9 yards with a long gain of 5. But he rallied in the fourth quarter for the second straight week, going 6 of 9 for 77 yards with the one TD for a 130.3 rating. “If you look up the history of my career, dating back to really high school but college. I’ve always just been really good in the fourth quarter,” he said. “That’s when the special players make special plays, and I want to be one of those chosen ones.” On the play where he drew the roughing call — which wiped out an interception in the end zone — Watson said he lost his breath. “I guess they thought it was my head,” he said. “I was just trying to catch my breath, honestly.”Watson lobbied Monken to go right back in, but Monken had already called the play for Sanders, a completion to Quinshon Judkins for no gain. “He was jabbing at me like, ‘I’m good, I’m good,’” Monken said. “Nothing I can do now about it. He went back in, and guess what, all the fans wanted to see us score a d — touchdown.”During the ugly third quarter, Watson missed Concepcion on a couple of short throws, and the boo-birds came out. But Watson blocked them out. “I didn’t hear any negativity, so for me, I was just hearing the crowd,” he said. “The yells, the positivity, that was my main focus, so I didn’t hear any of that. But at the same time. I was trying to give them something that they could cheer about and we got that W, so that was all that mattered.”Before Browns fans climbed back on the bandwagon, Watson had the full support of his coaches and teammates.“That’s the one big reason I continue to keep pushing strong,” he said. “Even going into today, knowing that on the sideline, ‘we keep believing in you, don’t worry about it, next drive, next play, it’s going to happen. Bad plays are going to happen, but at the same time, we believe in you. Go finish it, go be him, go be that guy we know you are.’“That just motivated me to go out on that field and finish that drive.”Monken has never wavered in his belief of Watson, whom he said last week was “still very young” with “a lot of football left.” “How cool, really,” he said. “To get knocked down, then come back in and make a play, and then a two point conversion, this is about him. This is about that. I’m really happy for him. ”In doing so, he seems to have converted plenty of Browns fans too.