Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken shielded quarterback Deshaun Watson from taking the blame alone for a 34-10 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday.
“I’d rather just speak about today, because I haven’t had time to even look at the tape,” Monken said.
Watson was intercepted on the first drive of the game, and Cleveland fell into a 31-0 hole early in the third quarter. The Browns’ lone touchdown of the game, a 46-yard pass from Watson to Denzel Boston, came with 1:52 left to play.
Watson started Sunday in his first game in almost two years. He was named the starter for Week 1 following a quarterback competition in training camp with Shedeur Sanders.
“I didn’t take this job to lose, OK,” Monken said. “We’re going to analyze everything how we do, how we coach, starting with me. How we do it offensively, defensively. Deshaun is part of that, always has been, always will be, as our quarterbacks will be.
“It would be unfair for me to really comment on any one given player. It’s never as bad as you think. And it’s never as good as you think.”
The Browns (0-1) are at Tampa Bay (0-1) next week.
Monken disagreed with the postgame press conference assessment that Watson was “tentative.” But according to NFL Next Gen Stats, Watson was 1 of 5 for 20 yards with one interception on passes that traveled at least 10 yards in the air in the first half while Cleveland dug a 24-0 hole.
“He let that ball rip that was an interception. He let it rip. I think he let it rip,” Monken said.
Watson credited the Jaguars for “making the plays we didn’t.”
“We just couldn’t get our rhythm back,” Watson said.
