Deshaun Watson has made the late game dramatic moment very familiar in Cleveland this season. Following the Browns' 13-10 comeback win over the Ravens, Watson said the confidence the team has in those scenarios is a product of the work they do all week.
"This is what we practice for," Watson said. "We practice it all off season. We practice it every week."
Cleveland were still struggling with consistency on the day offensively as Watson admitted. 16 of 26 passes completed for 164 yards, no TDs, no INTs and 29 yards on the ground. When they needed a play late though, Watson found Jerry Jeudy on a 33 yard completion which put them in a great position to win.
Deshaun said he'd been given the advice by Jeudy as to the route. Having spotted the late shift in the defense he went to the in-cut and found Jeudy down the field.
“He did a good job getting his depth and I put it on time,” Watson said. “He caught it, got the extra yards and put us in a position to win.”
Watson says he takes over in those moments, reminding the lads that their opportunity is going to come.
"I take charge and look at every single one of those guys in the eyes and let them know that, hey, opportunity is going to come. Let's finish it. Let's go win."
The QB also gave credit to the Baltimore defense for making the game so tough. Watson said they were constantly mixing up their coverages and pressure schemes which forced Cleveland to make adjustments and get the ball out quicker.
“We just need to be consistent overall and that starts with me.”
Even with the offense still working through those adjustments Watson feels there's still room for improvement. The Browns improved to 4-2 and moved into first place in the AFC North. Watson noted that you can certainly learn from a close win prior to the next two divisional games.
"We haven't even played our best football," said Watson.
For now the division leading Browns are finding ways to finish games. Watson pointed out that the more you see players encouraging each other through the missed opportunities and the tough stretches, the more belief you start to get. The challenge for Cleveland will be to find a way to bring that 'we'll finish' mentality into the game earlier on.
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