Three straight game-winning drives had Cleveland dreaming, then the Jets sacked Deshaun Watson eight times and the Browns fell flat.
Cleveland's feel-good moment hit a wall. After three straight game-winning drives had fans talking about a Deshaun Watson revival, the Browns were brought back to earth by a Jets defense that lived in their backfield all day.
Watson managed just 155 passing yards and one touchdown, completing fewer than half of his throws and finishing with a 69.6 QBR. Nothing about it looked like the quarterback who had been piling up late-game heroics. Rhythm never arrived, and neither did time to find it.
The number that defined the afternoon was eight. Watson went down eight times, and he finished with only seven more completions than sacks. Drives stalled, the pocket collapsed again and again, and Cleveland's offense never recovered from the pressure.
The result is a reality check for a city that had started to believe. Watson's comeback has always divided opinion, and this was the kind of game that fuels the skeptics. The Browns now have to fix their protection fast, or the "so back" talk will be short-lived.
