Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns stayed in Florida after a brutal Week 1 loss that had many wondering if the embattled quarterback’s job was at stake as the team’s starter.
With a comeback in the second half, and waiting patiently for a two-hour weather delay at Raymond James Stadium, the Browns defeated Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-19, to squash that talk for now.
Lightning, high winds and torrential downpour were always on the cards while looking at the forecast this week in Tampa, but it hit at the worst possible time after the Browns took their first lead of the game after a six-minute drive that resulted in a Blake Whiteheart 17-yard touchdown.
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Mayfield, trying to have a bit of a revenge game against the team that drafted him first overall and later released him in favor of Watson, whom Cleveland had just traded for, needed to respond with a touchdown drive of his own.
The Buccaneers were desperate to do so after falling on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals the week prior, where Mayfield had trouble with turnovers throughout the contest.
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However, at the two-minute warning, a lightning delay was called as the forecast showed a large system rolling through that would impact Raymond James Stadium, and boy, did it.
The weather had both teams in the locker rooms for over two hours, as play was stuck at second-and-4 from Cleveland’s 28-yard line.
Finally, when play resumed, the Bucs started off nicely with Bucky Irving picking up a first down. But as the rain continued to come down, the Browns’ defense turned up the heat on Mayfield.
A costly holding penalty on second-and-4 pushed Mayfield and the offense back to Cleveland’s 23-yard line. From there, Mayfield was unable to hook up with any of his receivers, including a final heave to the end zone where the ball was out of reach for Emeka Egbuka.
Watson and the Browns celebrated on the sideline, and they did so with head coach Todd Monken, who secured his first career win as Cleveland’s head coach.
Watson finished the game 24-of-30 for 238 yards and two passing touchdowns, the first of which to rookie Denzel Boston, who finished with a game-high 95 yards on five catches.
The Browns are finally hosting their home opener next week against the Carolina Panthers, and after the jeers the crowd gave Watson during the preseason, it will be interesting to see his reception now, assuming he remains the starter.
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This performance, a marked improvement over the 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, should be enough to secure Watson’s position as the team’s starting quarterback.
Meanwhile, after an inauspicious start, the Buccaneers remain at home next week to face the Minnesota Vikings, whose defense stymied the Chicago Bears in their own weather-laden bout on Sunday.
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