Deshaun Watson has been woeful with the Browns. Nick Chubb's injury could bring QB needed change.
There's no sugarcoating the loss of perennial Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb, who appeared to suffer one of the more gruesome knee injuries in recent memory Monday night.
But for the Cleveland Browns, with the requisite amount of elbow grease and polish, there could be a silver lining for their playbook as they move forward without Chubb for the rest of this season and possibly beyond. Otherwise? Then this franchise could recede further into the depths of the football purgatory that it’s been unable to escape since Jim Brown’s retirement nearly six decades ago.
Chubb has been the keystone of Cleveland’s offense pretty much from the moment he was taken in the second round of the 2018 draft. He’s averaged just shy of 100 yards from scrimmage per game throughout his career. His 5.3 yards per rushing attempt are actually superior to the incomparable Brown’s career average (5.2 ypc), and the greatest player in franchise history – some would say league history – played on much better teams than Chubb has.
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“Very quickly, you have to turn the page,” fourth-year coach Kevin Stefanski said this week, stating the obvious.
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But a blank page represents an opportunity, even in this dire circumstance.
Chubb frequently lined up deep in the backfield, particularly on early downs – an alignment essentially at odds with Deshaun Watson, who’s always been far more comfortable in shotgun or pistol formations that don’t afford Chubb the running starts he utilizes to such great effect when taking handoffs from a quarterback who’s under center.
It’s an oil-and-vinegar conundrum that’s been apparent in Watson’s brief, controversial and disappointing tenure in Cleveland. And, for the sake of this argument, let’s put the three-time Pro Bowler's off-field transgressions to the side (just for now). On the field? His passer rating (76.2) with the Browns is nearly 30 points shy of his sterling 104.5 standard with the Houston Texans. With Cleveland, Watson – he led the league with 4,823 passing yards in 2020, his final season with Houston – has thrown for 186.4 yards per game, more than 80 yards shy of his average with the Texans. The accuracy hasn’t been there, either, his 57.3% completion rate with the Browns an order of magnitude removed from his 67.8% in Houston.
But now? No more vinegar.
The Browns have only had days to begin adapting to list post-Chubb and the massive void he leaves on the field and in the locker room. Stefanski wouldn’t cop to a philosophical change moving forward but did admit the Browns will have to evolve.
“It does shift some things to different guys,” he said, “and we’ll work through that throughout this week and really throughout the season.”
And that means Watson.
The man with the fully guaranteed $230 million contract – one that’s already been restructured once and looked more like an albatross than a sea-changing deal from the moment he signed it last year – needs to become the linchpin. There’s no timeline on Chubb’s recovery or insight to the severity of his injury – he shredded the same knee while at the University of Georgia – and the 27-year-old’s contract runs out after the 2024 season. But the Browns are almost certainly wed to Watson at least into 2027.
It's only been a year since Stefanski had to switch gears on the fly after customizing his offense to fill-in Jacoby Brissett during Watson's 2022 suspension. Now, after an offseason of trying to fully assimilate Watson into the scheme, Stefanski needs to recalibrate his playbook again to his quarterback's preferences – especially since the coach is far more expendable than the player as they arrive at this crossroads. So let’s spread it out. Let’s use that shotgun. Let’s integrate more downfield options rather than allowing wideouts Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore to suck up nearly half the target share. Give Watson more control, and – just maybe – he distributes the ball more effectively and the turnovers diminish. And, given the presence of what’s shaping up as a dominant defense, that might be enough to propel a Chubb-less squad to relevance. Maybe more.
One thing’s for sure: It hasn’t worked the other way for the last season-plus.
“We have to play better – particularly on offense, we have to play better. We have to take care of the ball, and we need to put our guys into position to succeed,” admitted Stefanski even as he dodged queries regarding Watson’s usage and performance to date.
“There will be more opportunities for guys.”
That should mean opportunities for gifted tight end David Njoku, who so often seems lost in the shuffle. That should mean opportunities for newly re-signed back Kareem Hunt, an effective receiver out of the backfield. That should mean opportunities for wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, who’s flashed home-run ability in the past. And maybe it even means more designed runs for Watson, a dangerous component of his arsenal that’s also been missing too often of late.
“People hold me to this standard, so I have to make sure I play to that standard,” Watson said Thursday. “And, if I’m not, then I have to continue to find ways to get better.”
He knows that means fewer off-target throws like the one that ended up as a pick-six on Cleveland’s first snap in Monday’s 26-22 loss to the Steelers. He knows he can’t commit unforgivable penalties like the facemask and unnecessary roughness flags he incurred in Pittsburgh. He knows he can't hold on to the ball for 3.03 seconds per throw (per Next Gen Stats) – only the Jets' Zach Wilson, Broncos' Russell Wilson and Panthers rookie Bryce Young tardier on delivery. Not exactly choice company for a veteran of Watson's caliber.
And Watson knows he has to stem the panic All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio admitted set it in Monday after Chubb was carted off.
“We’re comin’ along,” said Watson. “And sooner or later, it’s gonna click.”
Best be sooner, or you can bet this organization hits the reset button. Again.
***Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.