Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Found Deshaun Watson Less Than Impressive Week 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns met on a Monday night at Acrisure Stadium for the 2023 Week 2 game. This was a big "prove it" game for both teams. The Steelers had lost badly to the San Francisco 49ers and the Browns demolished the Cincinnati Bengals during Week 1. Since neither team had performed exactly how they were expected to, people were anxious to see what would transpire.

Pittsburgh saw their entire team improve during the 2022 season after then-rookie Kenny Pickett replaced Mitch Trubisky as the starter. While the Steelers did not make it to the playoffs at the end of 2022, it sparked a lot of hope. The flames of that hope were only fanned by the incredible preseason performance Pickett and the team put on. 

The Browns finished last in the AFC North in 2022 with a record of 7-10. They were in quarterback limbo for most of the season with Deshaun Watson suspended for sexual misconduct until December of 2022. The Browns broke the bank to get Watson from the Houston Texans, offering him a five-year $230 million contract, and were determined to wait for him. 

This meant everyone was anxious to see what Watson would do after not playing for so long. During the six games he played at the end of the 2022 season, he had 99 completions out of 170 attempts for 1,102 yards, and a completion rating of 58.2%. Watson had seven touchdowns and five interceptions, which gave him a quarterback rating of 40.4. 

But everyone had seen what Watson was capable of in Houston and believed that with some time, he would adjust and find success in Cleveland. While the preseason is the preseason, the Browns weren't exactly blowing anyone away. That is why no one expected them to do much against Cincinnati in Week 1. After all, the Bengals were projected to win the division, but the Browns pulled out a win 3-24. 

They won despite the fact that Watson did not have a great game. He had 16 completions out of 29 attempts for 154 yards. He threw for one touchdown, rushed for another, and had one interception. He also displayed his scrambling, picking up an additional 67 yards. Regardless of whether the Bengals were up to snuff or not in Week 1, Watson did enough and the Browns defense was stout. This only fueled the fire headed into the Steelers-Browns matchup. 

A fierce rivalry exists between these two AFC North teams and not just because they are division competitors. The two cities are only a couple hours apart off the turnpike and have very similar dynamics. Both are considered "blue-collar" teams who pride themselves on hard work. 

The two teams have met 144 times, three of them in the postseason. The Steelers currently lead the series 81-62-1. While Browns fans will tell you they have won some critical games, they have been in the minority. Recent history has not been kind to Cleveland, the Browns are 7-33-1 over the past 20 years. 

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Less Than Impressed With Deshaun Watson

Someone who knows the Browns better than just about anyone is former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was 26-3-1 against the Browns during his career. 

Now Roethlisberger co-hosts a podcast Footbahlin' With Ben Roethlisberger with his friend Spencer Te'o. The two filmed a recent episode while watching the Week 2 Steelers-Browns matchup live. While Roethlisberger expressed frustration over much of what he saw from the Steelers, he was also unimpressed with Watson's performance. 

Watson's stats certainly were not a reflection of what was seen during Week 1. He was 22 of 40 attempts for 235 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His quarterback rating was a mere 16.5. 

Roethlisberger felt that Watson and the offense gave up the run game led by star running back Nick Chubb way before he was injured. He was surprised that they were not running the ball with Chubb as much during the early parts of the game. He commented that it almost felt like they were trying to help the Steelers. The more they threw, the less success they had.

Unfortunately, Chubb was tragically injured during the first half of the game after suffering a horrific knee injury. Roethlisberger predicted almost as soon as the injury happened that it would be tough for the Browns to pull out a win without Chubb unless they could get Watson operating smoothly.  

"It's going to be tough sledding for the Browns offense moving forward," said Roethlisberger.

The Steelers defense was performing miracles during the game and Roethlisberger credited them with being able to mostly contain Watson and to keep the dangerously mobile quarterback from scrambling and picking up yardage. The defense really showed up and helped Pittsburgh win the game, after all, they scored 12 of the 26 black and gold points on the board.  

It is critical that Watson not just be a one-dimensional quarterback. He has to be able to do more than just scramble with the ball when under pressure, he has to be able to make and complete passes. Most teams need to get their run game involved to keep their passing game honest, the Browns need to do the opposite. Roethlisberger was frustrated by what he saw from Watson. 

"That's really bad, Deshaun you got to throw it. You got to have your head up. We have to be up to six sacks by the Steelers. You've got to have your head up when you escape to either throw it away or throw."

Watson did not have his head up nearly enough, that was evidenced by the six sacks the aggressive Steelers defense was able to make. Roethlisberger said some of these things are just football basics. It doesn't seem like Watson should be struggling with them so much at this stage of his career. 

All quarterbacks have off games and it is critical that the Steelers not get too cocky. While the defense performed exceptionally well, it is fair to wonder if the outcome might have been different if Chubb stayed in the game. They were struggling to stop him prior to his injury, and Roethlisberger certainly felt that was possible.  

What do you think about Watson's performance since returning to the NFL? Click to comment below. 

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