MARYLAND, USA — It's nothing short of a complete mess.
In what might very well have been the most humiliating defeat of Kevin Stefanski's tenure as head coach, the Browns were absolutely demolished in a 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. While Washington looked inspiring and exciting with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at the reins, Cleveland looked lifeless, uninspired, and vapid in pretty much every way you could think of, especially on offense with Deshaun Watson continuing to look like a shell of his former Pro Bowl self.
At 1-4, only the most loyal of sycophants would still consider this team a contender, at least when it comes to the eye test. In fact, one may start to wonder if they will end up with a top five pick in next April's draft.
The Browns' offensive woes have been well-documented, and Sunday's performance may have set a new standard for ineptitude. Their 212 total yards marked their weakest output of the season, and they were also 1 for 13 on third-down tries. Kevin Stefanski and Ken Dorsey's scheme is under the microscope yet again, with a botched fourth-down pitch to D'Onta Foreman setting the tone for another disastrous afternoon.
The offensive line got Jedrick Wills Jr. and Ethan Pocic back from injury, but there was no noticeable improvement, as the battered group allowed seven more sacks. David Njoku also returned after missing three weeks with a high ankle sprain, but was targeted just three times and caught one pass for 14 yards. Mix in a dropped touchdown pass by Jerry Jeudy, and you have a recipe for failure.
That brings us to Watson, whose effort today will only further ignite questions about his future. There were more overthrown balls, bad reads, and moments where he looked like a deer in the headlights as D.C.'s defenders barreled down around him.
In short, while the squad around him remains bad, he didn't do anything to elevate them, either. Rock bottom came in the third quarter, when he was hit by Bobby Wagner and lost the ball before it was picked out of the air by Frankie Luvu for an interception.
The stat line for Watson read 15 for 28 for 125 yards and a 77.2 passer rating. Only a 10-yard TD pass in garbage time gained him a measure of respectability.
On the Washington side, Daniels was putting on a clinic.
In just his fifth NFL game, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner showed off his dynamic talent while leaving Cleveland's defense dazed and confused. He recovered after an early red-zone pick to throw for 238 yards and a long touchdown to Dyami Brown while also gaining 82 yards with his legs. He is now the first player in league history to throw for 1,000 yards and rush for 250 more in his first five contests.
The Browns' defense was solid early, but wound up being done in by missed tackles and busted coverages. The Commanders gained 434 yards overall, with Brian Robinson Jr. running for two scores and Terry McLaurin recording four catches for 112 yards.
Washington is now a surprising 4-1, with the D.C. faithful surely fantasizing about what Daniels' future might look like. As for the Browns, they are now tied at the very bottom of the NFL standings after losing what were supposed to be three "winnable" games, with a franchise QB who just got thoroughly outplayed by a rookie.
The Philadelphia Eagles await next week.