NFL Week 5 overreactions: What do you mean Cleveland isn't benching Deshaun Watson?
Kudos to Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski for falling on the sword and taking the blame for his quarterback, even though he didn’t have to.
Deshaun Watson turned in another disappointing performance Sunday against the Commanders, and anyone who has watched the $230 million guaranteed starter for the Browns knows it’s time for him to be benched.
“We’re not changing quarterbacks,” Stefanski said after the Browns were blown out by the Commanders. “We need to play better, I need to coach better and that's really what it is.”
Stefanski’s comments kick off USA TODAY Sports’ NFL overreactions in Week 5, because dude, seriously?
The Browns have not scored more than 18 points in any game this season. They average a league-worst 3.9 yards per play and 239.4 yards per game. Watson ranked 32nd in the NFL with a 23.9 QBR and a 31.7 passing success rate.
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The most glaring stat: Watson’s -0.30 EPA (expected points added) per dropback is the lowest number for any Browns QB in Weeks 1-5 since at least 2000 – even lower than his -0.20 EPA last season. Essentially, don’t expect points with Watson.
Maybe, it was the right thing for Stefanski to say in the postgame press conference, but hopefully he sees the light by Wednesday and names Jameis Winston the starter for Week 6.
“Right now, Deshaun Watson with his contract, the trade they made with the Houston Texans has totally handcuffed the organization. If it was any other quarterback in football, we would be talking about benching him,” NBC’s NFL analyst Chris Simms said before Sunday Night Football.
Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett also offered a considerable solution:
“I think right now, give Jameis Winston a shot. Maybe you get some new energy. Maybe there is a spark in this team. It doesn’t mean this is the decision for the rest of your life. You can make a two-way decision,” Garrett said. “A week from now, maybe you bring him back into it. But they can’t keep going down the road they are going down right now. They have no chance to win.”
To Garrett’s point, Stefanski can’t afford to lose the locker room. It’s bad enough the Browns are losing and must afford Watson’s contract, which continues to reaffirm itself as the worst deal in NFL history – especially after giving up three first-round picks and six overall to land him.
Mike McCarthy is back!
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy looked like he was going to be the first NFL coach fired this season after Dallas dropped two straight home games for a 1-2 record after Week 3.
The Cowboys won ugly in Week 4 (20-15 over the New York Giants) and Week 5 (20-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers), and those are the type of ugly wins Dallas needs to win to make a playoff run this season.
McCarthy’s calls in the Pittsburgh game — for quarterback Dak Prescott to find running back Rico Dowdle and receiver Jalen Tolbert for touchdowns in the fourth quarter — worked out in his favor.
The Cowboys are 3-2 and McCarthy has subdued some of the fire under his hot seat — for now.
But it’s not time for McCarthy to get comfortable again just yet: Dallas hosts the Detroit Lions in Week 6 and visits the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8, games that could determine how deep the Cowboys go this season.
It’s gut check time in Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl competitors from three seasons ago, are both 1-4 after Week 5. But at least the Rams have a good excuse with star receivers Puka Nucua and Cooper Kupp injured.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow has his star receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, together for the third consecutive game, but the Bengals are in a deep hole where the playoffs might not be in sight this season after a dishearteningn 41-38 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Only 5.6% of teams with a 1-4 start in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) have reached the playoffs, according to ESPN. So, it’s not out of the question. But the Bengals can’t afford to both light it up offensively and get lit up defensively (they’ve allowed more than 38 points in two of the last three games).
Plain and simple: It’s gut check time in Cincinnati. Bengals coach Zac Taylor is officially on the hot seat. And depending how the rest of the season goes, Chase and/or Higgins could be hot commodities at the trade deadline if Cincinnati wants to start thinking about the future more than its present.