The Jameis Winston Experience had Troy Aikman wondering Monday night what could have been in this lost Browns season.
“This is a tough league. We all talk about parity, but when it comes to your hometown team nobody wants to hear it,” Aikman said while watching Winston throw for 497 yards and four touchdowns, along with three interceptions including two pick-sixes in the Browns’ 41-32 road loss to the Broncos. “Kevin Stefanski is an outstanding football coach and he’s proven that. Two-time coach of the year. What he did to that group last year to get them into the postseason — they started four quarterbacks, they were decimated with injuries. And I get it, this year hasn’t been what people thought coming in.
“But the albatross is Deshaun Watson. If you go to Jameis Winston earlier in the year, does this look different? Because I would say the defensive struggles, in at least a small part, have had to do with how inept the offense has been moving the football. I think it’s affected the defensive play as well.”
The Browns (3-9) are in the mix for the No. 1 pick but have shown some spunk with Winston under center compared to the lifeless play with Watson at the helm.
Watson, who received the NFL’s first fully guaranteed contract, led the Browns to a 1-6 record while throwing just five touchdowns to three interceptions.
The Browns did not score 20 points in any game with him under center before he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 7 against the Bengals.
Some had speculated whether Cleveland should have removed Watson as the starter prior to his injury, although his contract certainly factors into such a massive decision.
Cleveland is 2-3 with Winston starting, including upset wins over the Steelers and Ravens, and has largely played a much better brand of football with him leading the way.
The Browns nearly escaped Denver with a win Monday thanks to the Winston-Jerry Jeudy combination but a late pick-six scuttled any comeback hopes.
“You can’t help but wonder what this year might have looked like for Cleveland if Jameis had taken over from the start — or at least much sooner than when he did,” Aikman said. “I know Deshaun Watson goes down with a torn Achilles, but it had been a real struggle offensively watching him.”
Aikman and ESPN analyst Joe Buck dove into the topic while discussing Cleveland’s inspired play Monday in a game that did not really matter for the Browns.
The team entered the year with high hopes after last year’s unexpected playoff run with Joe Flacco replacing an injured Watson, but has been one of the NFL’s bigger disappointments this year.
How the Browns handle the quarterback position moving forward will be a big offseason storyline since Watson is under contract for two more seasons.
“Yes, (Stefanski)’s the reigning coach of the year. But this has been a disappointing season,” Buck said. “But these guys are still playing for him. They’re playing on defense, they’re playing on offense and they’re giving Denver a game here (Monday).”
