Ravens Wave Good “Bye” To The Browns

The Browns came into week four in a stellar position to take over the division early and start the year 2-1 against divisional foes. With a lot of uncertainty going into the week, the team & fans fully anticipated Deshaun Watson playing against the Ravens. That is until 11 am struck and Watson was ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury. Something seemed off all week, but now just before kickoff Browns fans are going to go through the Dorian Thompson-Robinson experience. Needless to say, it was a disaster.

Let’s get the game analysis out of the way because quite frankly there isn't much to discuss. The offense was awful for lack of a better term. I believe the shock of starting DTR over Watson was too much to overcome for the coaching staff. The coaches didn’t have a great game plan & on top of it all DTR was absolutely awful. He never got settled in & the Ravens defense took full advantage of that. Three interceptions & multiple sacks later the Browns found themselves down 28-3 before they knew it. The defense did everything they could, it’s tough to continue to make plays when you are on the field for the majority of the game. The one bright side of the game was Dustin Hopkins nailed a 50 plus yard kick right through the uprights. The loss was disheartening, but fans & media were angrier about how the situation pregame was handled.

All week Deshaun Watson was limited throwing in practice. He would only throw five-to-ten-yard passes in practice and never really got through an entire throwing session. Despite all this, Watson said he had planned on playing this past Sunday. During the pregame CBS broadcast there were clips of him throwing, talking to Stefanski and the front office, then shaking their hands and ultimately being ruled out. Nobody outside of the team knew what had happened, it didn't help that Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot had posted Watson was medically cleared to play. To top it all off, Stefanski said postgame that he fully expected Watson to play and he was shocked he didn’t play. Now where is the disconnect? How does the head coach not know that his starter was too hurt to play? Instead of figuring all this out earlier in the week, they send an underprepared DTR into the game to get slaughtered. Fans can play the blame game all they want; however the team has two weeks to get things back to normal.

With the impending bye week, there isn't going to be much to discuss. The goal is to make sure Watson comes back healthy for the game against San Francisco. Now 1-2 in the division, the divisional games later in the year become all the more crucial for seeding and tie breakers. Just make sure your stud quarterback is ok enough to play the next game & have your team prepared for the juggernaut that is the 49ers roster. This will be the toughest test for the defense yet. As long as everyone gets healthy, they should be able to compete. One thing is certain, no Browns fan will ever be begging for Dorian Thompson-Robinson over Deshaun Watson again. We will see you guys week six!

Tory Pierce

@tory_pierce8 on Twitter

@tory_pierce8 on Instagram.