The Browns are coming off from a less-than-stellar season. Jacoby Brissett started the first eleven games and really put Cleveland in a less-than-decent position to make a run for the playoffs. Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: The return of Deshaun Watson. To put even more emphasis on the return, he would play his former team the Houston Texans.
Watson was coming off a long hiatus and had to sit out the first 11 games of the season due to sexual misconduct allegations. The Cleveland faithful had aspired that Watson would return to his old form and launch the Browns into the playoffs. However, that was not the case, the season became even more frustrating and hopeless than it was without him. On a brighter note, a new season is coming which means a fresh start for Watson and the Browns.
Deshaun Watson’s Play with the Browns in 2022
As mentioned above, Watson returned for the Browns Week 13 game against the Houston Texans. However, this game was not memorable for the play of Watson. It was more memorable to the fact that defense and special teams carried the Browns to victory in that game. Was the world surprised that Watson didn’t play well? Maybe a little. But how did we expect a guy to perform after spending two miserable seasons away from the NFL? It is tough to ball again after that much time away from the game.
Moving on from the Texans game, let’s look at the statistics from Watson in 2022. Watson completed just under 60 percent of his passes. Furthermore, he threw for 1,102 yards, had seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Watson was pretty much rusty for the rest of the season. However, Watson did do well in certain aspects of the game. He was highly accurate when threw short to intermediate passes
In addition, his awareness in the pocket was insane. There were some plays where one thought for sure this guy was going to get sacked, but by some miracle, he found a way to get the ball to one of his receivers. To put it simply this guy knows how to extend plays whether it is by his legs or through the air.
All these factors do bring hope for the 2023 season. He will be in better shape, and he will know the playbook better.
Predictions for Watson in 2023
It is hard to predict how a guy might perform. Knowing that Watson will be starting at the beginning of the season, he will obviously have more touchdowns. The total could be at 22 to 23 touchdowns. That is better than his rookie season but not as much as he threw in his second year in the NFL. As for the total amount of passing yards, Watson should get up to the 2,700 mark. He may even go beyond that. How many interceptions Watson might throw during the 2023 season? To be frank, it doesn’t seem likely that Watson will throw just seven interceptions like he did in 2020, his last full season. It is predicted that his interception total will range from 10 to 12 interceptions.
This concludes predicting on how Deshaun Watson may perform next season with the Browns
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