The 2024 NFL season has been one filled with some remarkable stories. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is having a career revitalization in Minnesota with head coach Kevin O’Connell, and has the Vikings as one of the few remaining undefeated teams. Sticking at quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has continued his own reclamation project in Tampa and may be a legitimate MVP candidate in his own right.
But for every feel-good story in the NFL, there’s a story of someone who is not living up to expectations – whether that be because of injury or poor performance. The Miami Dolphins paid quarterback Tua Tagovailoa handsomely in the offseason, and he suffered a concussion in the second game of the season, putting his season – and maybe career – in jeopardy. The Jacksonville Jaguars also paid their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, massively in the offseason, and they’re not getting anywhere near the kind of play they would expect from a player with his talent and hype.
Then there’s the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson. According to Bleacher Report NFL analyst Mitch Milani, they have easily been “the biggest of the biggest busts” to start the season. Just a year after making the playoffs with 11 wins and previously retired Joe Flacco at the helm, the Browns have started off 1-3 on the season and quarterback Deshaun Watson has been nothing short of a disaster.
Watson has yet to throw for even 200 yards in a game on the season. He has just four touchdown passes to three interceptions, and he’s been hard to deal with from a personality standpoint. Watson has been vocal about the fact that he’s “not a running back” and doesn’t want more running plays added into the mix. He was seen having spats with teammates on the sidelines of Sunday’s game that needed to be broken up by backup quarterback Jameis Winston. It’s been an all-around disaster for Watson and the Browns in 2024.
In Watson’s defense, the struggles offensively this season are not entirely his fault. The offensive line in front of him has been decimated by injury and has not been able to hold up in protection at all in 2024. Watson has been the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL this season, taking 19 sacks through four games. Not all of those sacks can be laid at the feet of the offensive line, but it’s been a major issue all season long.
Watson has also been hampered by drops this season. He has been far from the most accurate quarterback in the league, but his wide receivers aren’t doing him any favors in 2024, either. Particularly their top wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Cooper leads the NFL in dropped passes this season, with six drops through just four games. Opposite Cooper, wide receiver Elijah Moore has added two drops of his own this season.
It has been a comedy of errors for the Cleveland Browns through four games, and it’s no secret as to why they’re sitting at 1-3, with their lone win coming against the Jaguars. Watson is far from the only issue in Cleveland, but in the NFL, it all starts and stops with the quarterback.
