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ESPN star calls Browns' Deshaun Watson 'albatross,' wonders how team would've fared without him

3 December 2024 at 14:40

The Cleveland Browns dropped to 3-9 after falling to the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football," but fans have to admit Jameis Winston has kept the team in games as the team’s starting quarterback.

He's won games against two divisional opponents, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

With the first half clock winding down Monday, ESPN color commentator and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman discussed the Browns’ quarterback situation. 

During his synopsis, he called Deshaun Watson, the embattled quarterback out for the remainder of the season, an "albatross." 

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"You know, this is a tough league," Aikman began his monologue, via Awful Announcing. "And we all talk about parity. But when it comes to your hometown team, nobody wants to hear it. And Kevin Stefanski is an outstanding football coach, and he’s proven that. Two-time Coach of the Year. What he did to that group last year to get them in the postseason — they started four quarterbacks, they were decimated with injuries. 

"And I get it. You know, this year hasn’t been what people thought coming in, but the albatross is Deshaun Watson. If you go to Jameis Winston earlier in the year, does this look different? Because I would say the defensive struggles, in at least a small part, have had to do with how inept the offense has been moving the football. I think it’s affected the defensive play, as well."

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Aikman doubled down later in the game when Winston had 355 passing yards and Jerry Jeudy caught six of those passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.

"You can’t help but wonder what this year might have looked like for Cleveland if Jameis had taken over from the start or at least much sooner than when he did," Aikman said. "I know Deshaun Watson goes down with a torn Achilles, but it had been a real struggle offensively watching him."

The Browns’ season is virtually over in terms of playoff contention, but the organization has a lot of evaluation to do at the quarterback position after Watson went 1-6 to start the season before tearing his Achilles against the Cincinnati Bengals Oct. 20. 

During those games, Watson threw for 1,148 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, while getting sacked 33 times. 

Since Winston took over Stefanski’s offense, the Browns have gone 2-3 with the 30-year-old passing for 1,680 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions in the five games he’s started. 

The biggest issue with Watson is the $230 million contract he signed that has him under Cleveland control until the 2027 campaign, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. 

Do the Browns want to see Watson recover and try to find his way again, hoping he can recreate the magic he had in Houston with the Texans? Or does the organization want to move on, especially considering off-the-field allegations that continue even after the numerous civil lawsuits that led to an 11-game suspension in 2022?

The Browns will deliberate over those very questions while evaluating Winston over the team’s final five games, starting with a rematch against the Steelers Sunday in Pittsburgh.

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Browns' Jameis Winston prays for the 'Lord to deliver' him from pick-sixes after throwing 2 in their loss

3 December 2024 at 09:25

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston was a mixed bag in the team’s 41-32 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night. 

Winston, 30, threw for a career-high and Browns franchise record 497 yards in the loss with four touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions, including two back-breaking pick-sixes. 

After the game, Winston reflected on his up and down performance.

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"In times like this, it’s the opportunity to continue to grow for the lord, even through the toughest circumstances. I know I’m better than this, I know, like I’m just praying for the lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. Like that’s just not me. Like phenomenal game, offense did some great things, but I messed it up," Winston said postgame. 

Winston’s first pick-six came with under two minutes left in the second quarter. The Browns were down 14-10, trying to put points on the board before the end of the half. 

On first down, after surveying the field, Winston tried to check down to his tight end Jordan Akins. Linebacker Nik Bonitto jumped in front of Akins and intercepted the pass for a 71-yard pick-six. 

Winston responded to the pick-six by leading the Browns back down the field and connecting with tight end David Njoku for his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard pass. The score came just before the first half ended, cutting the Broncos lead to 21-17. 

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The second pick-six came with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Browns were down 34-32 trying to mount a comeback. Winston targeted wide receiver Elijah Moore on first down, but the pass was undercut by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan.

McMillan fell but got back up and raced to the end zone, effectively ending the game, putting the Broncos up 41-32 and up by two scores.

Winston throughout his career has been known to be a gunslinger, throwing 152 career touchdown passes to 106 interceptions. In 2019, Winston led the NFL with 5109 passing yards while throwing 33 touchdowns and a whopping 30 interceptions. 

Winston’s 497 yards passing in the loss marked the fifth game in his career where Winston has had over 400 yards in a game passing. 

Winston is now 2-3 as the Browns' starter since taking over for the injured Deshaun Watson. He has completed 61.3% of his passes for 1763 yards while throwing for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Browns fell to 3-9 with the loss, and will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers next, where Winston hopes the lord will have delivered him from more pick-sixes. 

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Broncos outlast Jameis Winston's 497 passing yards to beat Browns in primetime

2 December 2024 at 20:52

The Denver Broncos picked up a huge win for their playoff chances, taking down the Cleveland Browns, 41-32, in a back-and-forth thriller on "Monday Night Football."

This game was a shootout much like Jameis Winston’s previous nationally televised bout, which ended in victory for the Browns this past Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But Bo Nix, not Russell Wilson, was Winston’s opposing quarterback this time, and he continued to show why he’s an Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner as he picked apart the Browns’ defense. 

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On the team’s second drive, Nix was methodical as he dissected the defense, finding fellow rookie DeVaughn Vele for a 16-yard gain that landed the Broncos at the one-yard line. A few plays later, running back Javonte Williams scored the game’s first touchdown to get the home team on the board first. 

But leave it to Winston to immediately respond, launching one to Elijah Moore for a 44-yard gain four plays into the next drive to get into the red zone. Then, David Njoku went upstairs to haul in his first of two touchdowns on the night for Cleveland to tie things up 7-7. 

The Browns’ offense, though, definitely ran through Jerry Jeudy, who went into this contest against his former team saying he wanted to "whip their a--."

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He lived up to those words with 235 yards on nine catches, including a 70-yard touchdown that came immediately after Nix had thrown a dot to Marvin Mims Jr. on third-and-11 for a 93-yard touchdown in the third quarter. 

After the Broncos kicked a field goal to make it a 31-26 game, Winston was back under center again, this time looking to take the lead for the first time in this game with a touchdown.

That’s exactly what happened, as Nick Chubb was uncovered on his route for a five-yard score. 

However, Nix, who has been calm under pressure throughout this season, continued his good performance by getting his team into the red zone once more and Wil Lutz buried a short field goal to retake the lead, 34-32. 

Winston had a chance to respond once more, but he threw his second pick-six of the game, as Ja’Quan McMillan stepped into the out route and wasn’t touched after falling to the turf. He walked right into the end zone to pull away late in the fourth quarter. 

That was the victory seal for Denver, as Winston and the Browns didn’t have any magic in them to pull spoiler yet again. 

Looking at the stat sheet, Nix was 18-for-35 for 294 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, with Mims (3 catches, 105 yards) and Courtland Sutton (6 catches, 102 yards) leading the team. 

On the ground, Jaleel McLaughlin had 84 yards on 14 carries for the Broncos. 

For the Browns, Winston had a whopping 497 yards passing on 34-of-58 with Moore also tallying 11 yards on eight catches. Njoku finished with nine receptions for 52 yards and his two scores. 

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Browns' Jameis Winston rejects mashed potatoes as a Thanksgiving dish, doesn't even want it around

27 November 2024 at 12:35

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston won't eat just anything, apparently. 

The backup, whose career has been associated with food in the media after a college scandal involving allegedly stolen seafood and a heavier body build, revealed his distaste for mashed potatoes on Wednesday. 

Winston said mashed potatoes is a dish that he doesn't even want people to bring to Thanksgiving, in an interview on the "BIG PLAY" podcast. 

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"I have this thing where, please don't bring mashed potatoes to Thanksgiving," Winston said, denying the notion that the dish is a "staple" of the Thanksgiving meal. 

"I really don't think it's a staple, it's mashed potatoes," Winston said. "It's not a Thanksgiving meal… I would really just have a baked potato." 

Winston's argument about mashed potatoes not being a Thanksgiving dish would be unfounded to some. But there is some historical contest to support his claim. 

Mashed potatoes was not a dish at the first Thanksgiving at Plymoth Rock, Massachusetts, in 1621, according to multiple accounts. In fact, potatoes didn't even come to continental North America until settlers brought them to Virginia around the same time. 

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Potatoes originated in the Andean region of South America, specifically being domesticated by the Inca people, and were brought to North America by European settlers centuries after Christopher Columbus's famous voyage in 1492. 

However, potatoes quickly became a common dish at Thanksgiving dinners in the 1860s. 

The popular Civil War era journalist and author Josepha Hale campaigned for Congress to officially recognize Thanksgiving. She is considered the individual most responsible for the creation of the national holiday in the U.S. beyond New England, earning her the nickname "Mother of Thanksgiving." 

Her writings frequently included mashed potatoes as a dish at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and the vast majority of American families have followed that precedent ever since. 

A 2021 IPSOS survey found that mashed potatoes are the most common side dish at Thanksgiving feasts, with 77% of households including it. 

Winston's suggestion of baked potatoes was not even included in the survey. 

Winston previously revealed his top 10 favorite fast-food restaurants in a social media video in September – 1. Chick-fil-A 2. McDonald’s 3. Dunkin’ Donuts 4. Chipotle 5. Krispy Kreme 6. Papa John’s Pizza 7. Pizza Hut 8. Subway 9. Arby’s 10. Panda Express. 

He declined to include chains like KFC or Popeyes, which are among the most popular fast-food restaurants to serve mashed potatoes. 

Winston's taste in food has been the subject of coverage dating back to his Heisman college career at Florida State University. He was issued a civil citation for shoplifting on April 29, 2014, after allegedly walking out of a Tallahassee, Florida, supermarket without paying for $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish.

Winston denied the allegations in a statement the following April ahead of that year's NFL Draft, where he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

"I went to the supermarket with the intent to purchase dinner but made a terrible mistake for which I'm taking full responsibility. In a moment of youthful ignorance, I walked out of the store without paying for one of my items," Winston said. 

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Browns use blizzard conditions to upset AFC North rival Steelers in 4th quarter comeback

22 November 2024 at 04:11

The league’s first snow game of the season appeared to be a low-scoring bout at first, but a fourth-quarter thriller ensued in the harsh conditions as the Cleveland Browns upset the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-19, in a wild AFC North battle. 

The Browns moved to 3-8 on the season, while the Steelers are now 8-3.

High winds, a temperature that felt below 30 degrees and tons of snow were dumped on Huntington Bank Field throughout this contest, and both teams were attempting to get acclimated to the conditions that continued to get worse as time ticked on the clock. 

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The Steelers found themselves down two scores after Jameis Winston powered his way into the end zone on fourth-and-goal to make it 18-6 after a failed two-point conversion. 

However, Russell Wilson and the Steelers’ offense, which had not scored a touchdown all game to this point, knew it was now or never early in the fourth quarter to get moving. 

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After seven plays, Jaylen Warren scored on the ground from three yards out to make it 18-13, with a touchdown all that was needed to take the lead. 

First, the Steelers’ defense had to get the ball back from Winston and company, and while a punt would have sufficed, Nick Herbig had something else in mind. 

On the second play of the drive, Herbig strip-sacked Winston and the ball was recovered on Cleveland’s 27-yard line. Three plays later, Wilson threw a dot to Calvin Austin in the back of the end zone to make it a 19-18 game.

However, the Browns, with fans braving the weather in the stands to cheer them on, found life on their final drive of the game, where Nick Chubb scored his second touchdown of the game with 57 seconds left on the clock to go up five points after the two-point conversion failed. 

Chubb, who found the end zone with four minutes left in the second quarter, as well, finished the game with 59 yards on 20 rush attempts.

His score, however, would not have come without Jerry Jeudy hauling in a fourth-and-3 pass to move the chains earlier in the drive, while also going for 15 yards on third-and-6 to land on Pittsburgh’s 15-yard line to set up Chubb’s score. Jeudy finished the game with a team-high 85 yards on six catches. 

Wilson had a last-ditch effort to try to retake the lead, attempting to keep the Steelers’ five-game win streak alive. But his efforts were all for naught. He finished the game with 261 yards passing on 20-of-26 with his touchdown to Austin, who had 69 yards on just two catches. 

For the Browns, Winston was 18-of-27 through the air for 219 yards. 

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