By admin 
The Cleveland Browns have won three straight games, they share first place in the AFC North, and even the people who cover their rivals are admitting they got this team wrong. Believing in Deshaun Watson is taking them longer.
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Jeff Zrebiec, who covers the Ravens for The Athletic, wrote in the outlet’s weekly AFC North roundtable that “the Browns are far better than I thought and deserve their flowers.” Then he left them fourth in his predicted order of finish.
“This is still a quarterback league, though, and I trust the other three quarterbacks over the long haul more than Deshaun Watson,” Zrebiec wrote.
What the numbers say about Watson
The box score is on Watson’s side. He has completed 80 of 115 passes (69.6 percent) for 855 yards, six touchdown passes and two interceptions, good for a 101.2 passer rating. All three wins came after Cleveland trailed or was tied in the fourth quarter. Watson has led a game-winning drive in three straight weeks, and CBS Sports noted that Brian Sipe in 1979 is the only other Browns quarterback since 1950 to do that.
The grades are closer to Zrebiec’s view. Watson’s 56.3 overall mark sits well behind Lamar Jackson (91.4), Joe Burrow (85.8) and Aaron Rodgers (65.5), according to PFF, and he has been sacked 11 times while working with a run game that ranks 23rd in rushing yards. He also threw an interception and lost a fumble in the second half against Pittsburgh.
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The other three writers were kinder to the roster than to the quarterback. Browns writer Zac Jackson said Cleveland is “playing a little above their heads.” Paul Dehner Jr., who covers the Bengals, moved the Browns up to third because of “serviceable quarterback play” next to a young core. Steelers writer Mike DeFabo said the Browns “have the better roster in so many areas.”
Todd Monken hasn’t pretended otherwise. The coach said after the Carolina win that Watson “knows he can play better,” then added, “We can certainly coach better around him.”
Watson gets the 1-3 Jets on Sunday. A week later, the Ravens come to the lakefront, and Watson can make his case against the team Zrebiec covers.
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More on the Cleveland Browns
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 8:21 AM.