Atlanta sits in sole possession of first place in the NFC South, with a stranglehold on the division and victories over the Bucs and Saints in back-to-back weeks. With the Panthers looming in Week 6, the Falcons have an excellent opportunity to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the division.
While Falcons fans sat back on their couches and relaxed, other fan bases around the league weren’t so lucky, none more than the Dawg Pound. The Browns fell to the Commanders 34-13 on Sunday, dropping Cleveland to 1-4 on the season.
More than anything, the story surrounds Deshaun Watson’s struggles. The $230 million quarterback finished the Week 5 contest 15-of-28 for 125 yards, but somehow, he was even worse than the stat line would indicate.
The Falcons, Arthur Blank in particular, better thank their lucky stars that the Browns forked over that fully guaranteed contract a few offseasons ago, or we could be in a similar position as Cleveland.
Even if you somehow overlooked the horrific off-the-field allegations (which is impossible), Deshaun Watson has severly underperformed on the field. Not to make light of the situation because the allegations are very serious, but somehow, Watson has been worse on the field than he has off the field.
So far this season, Watson has recorded a 61.5% completion percentage, amassing 726 passing yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 74.4. Those aren’t great numbers, but what makes everything even worse for the Browns is the overall ineffectivenss of the offense as a whole.
The Titans, Raiders, and Panthers rank near the bottom of the league with a -17% offensive DVOA. The Patriots are 30th with a -18%, and the Dolphins, with a backup quarterback, are 31st with a 28% offensive DVOA. The Browns are dead last, and it’s not even close, ranking 32nd with a -43% offensive DVOA.
If Watson didn’t have two more years of fully guaranteed pay at a total of $92 million through 2026, he’d be benched by now, but the Browns don’t really have many options.
The Falcons and every other club that tried to trade for him initially are thanking their lucky stars for not ending up with that mess. Arthur Blank nearly replaced the greatest quarterback in franchise history with an alleged sexual predator who can’t complete a forward pass.
Still, Blank is still to blame for the Falcons essentially pushing Matt Ryan out of Atlanta just by pursuing Deshaun Watson. He and the entire organization deserve critism for that, even if they didn’t end up trading for him.
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Photographer: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire
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