The Cleveland Browns are 3-1 and alone in first place in the AFC North after a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football, and Deshaun Watson finally looks like the quarterback Cleveland paid for back in 2022, as ClutchPoints reported.
Watson went 24-of-33 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception, plus 22 yards on the ground. After Pittsburgh rallied late to tie it 24-24, he put together a seven-play, 36-yard drive that set up Andre Szmyt for a career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left.
Asked what changed, Watson kept it simple: “I’m healthy, my mental is straight, my emotions is super good, spiritually I’m in a great place.”
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh
The Steelers’ night got louder than the scoreboard. Cameras caught Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy trading expletives over a play-call mix-up in the first half. After the game, McCarthy walked it back: “What’s said on the field, stays on the field. Any negative communication said on my part I wish I wouldn’t have used those words.”
Rodgers threw for 299 yards, three touchdowns and two picks in the loss. DK Metcalf had five catches for 115 yards. Pittsburgh hosts the Colts in Week 5.
The IAHHM Take
Whatever you think of Watson’s Cleveland tenure, a 3-1 start with a game-winning drive in prime time is real. The question is whether this lasts once the AFC North gets cold and ugly.
Receipts time: in our Week 4 betting preview we liked the Under 38.5 and Pittsburgh was laying 2.5. Fifty-one points and an outright Browns win later, that one’s on us. Bad beat, but we’ll be back with Week 5.
And the Rodgers-McCarthy thing? Two vets with history, a hot mic and a short week. Is that just football, or a crack worth watching? Let us know.
Source: ClutchPoints (Watson) and ClutchPoints (McCarthy)
