Watson leads third straight winning drive, puts Browns atop North

CLEVELAND — For the third consecutive game, quarterback Deshaun Watson delivered late-game heroics in a Cleveland Browns win.

Four days after he threw the game-winning score in Cleveland’s Week 3 home win over the Carolina Panthers, Watson led the Browns on another game-winning drive. This time, he put the Browns in range for Andre Szmyt‘s 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left as Cleveland defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 on Thursday night.

Watson joined Brian Sipe as the second Browns quarterback since the 1970 merger to lead a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime of three straight games, according to ESPN Research.

“It was electric. It was amazing,” Watson said. “From the time we came out pregame, it was super dope to be called out, hear the crowd and feel the energy. From start to finish, the crowd was in it, the energy of the stadium, we fed off them. To get a big victory against a divisional rival on primetime, this [is] what you dream about. This is what you work for. These are the things that you put that grind in during the summertime and training camp for nights like this. It was amazing.”

The victory, Cleveland’s third straight after a 24-point road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, gave the Browns their first 3-1 start since 2021 and moved them into sole possession of the AFC North for the first time since Nov. 9, 2014.

Late turnarounds defined Watson’s previous two game-winning drives after starting slow. But on Thursday night, Watson had one of his best first halves in a Browns uniform. Watson threw for 181 yards, his most in the first half of a game in Cleveland, as the offense scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the second quarter. The Browns led 21-10 at halftime, and their 21 points in the second quarter were their most in any quarter of a game since the 2020 Wild Card playoff, also against the Steelers.

The offense stalled for much of the second half, though, and a pair of turnovers from Watson played a role in Pittsburgh being able to erase the deficit. He was stripped in the third quarter by edge rusher T.J. Watt on a rush attempt that the Steelers recovered. Watson was also intercepted early in the fourth quarter on a pass that was tipped as he threw the pass. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown after the giveaway but failed on the 2-point attempt, cutting the Browns’ lead to 21-16 with 10:10 remaining.

The Steelers tied the score at 24-24 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to tight end Pat Freiermuth and a successful 2-point try on a 1-yard sneak by Rodgers after defensive end Jared Verse was flagged for being offsides.

Watson, though, quickly drove the Browns down the field with four straight completions. He was sacked for a 4-yard loss two plays before the game-winning kick, but he was already within Szmyt’s range.

Safety Grant Delpit intercepted a desperation heave from Rodgers to preserve the victory.

“That was money,” Watson said. “I just knew, I knew it was money. He told me the landmark, which was like the 42-yard line. He was like, ‘Man, you got me a little extra,’ so he would just line it up and we see it all the time. He’s just going to be money.”

The Browns won their fifth consecutive home game against the Steelers and extended their winning streak on Thursday night to eight games, the longest active streak in the NFL. Cleveland has also won three straight games for the first time since Weeks 14 to 17 of the 2023 season.

“That was a complete, maybe disaster is a little bit strong, but that’s a tough opening game in every phase, other than maybe kickoff return, maybe other than that. But the guys trusted the process,” Monken said. “We got stung a little bit, and our guys responded to that. And, man, that locker room is fun, right there celebrating those guys. Big, big, big divisional win.”

A month after he was booed by home fans while struggling in the second half of a preseason game and later lashed out at fans, Watson has delivered his best stretch in Cleveland since arriving via trade in March 2022.

Through four games, Watson has completed 69.6% of his passes — the best single-season mark for him with the Browns — for 855 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions.

“Deshaun, before the game … I was in the coach’s office, and I was going over the call sheet with him again,” Monken said. ” And I said, ‘Isn’t this really cool? Like, you’re going to be introduced last, isn’t that really freaking cool?’ It was only seven weeks earlier, and, right, it’s, ‘Where are we going to go from here, right? The Bills game at home, right? Where are we going from here, where are you going, where are we going?’ So cool.”