2022 Week 13 Game Recap: Browns 27, Texans 14 (By Ross Jacobs)

Do not box score scout ever. Games like this are why. On paper you'd assume the Browns just beat down the Texans but that couldn't be further from the truth. Without a doubt, no qualifications, the Texans were the better team here and simply got some horrible turnover luck to lose this game big. The defense clamped down on Watson and the Browns and didn't let them move the ball much at all, but DPJ scored on a punt return, Kyle Allen fumbled from his own endzone and it was recovered for a TD by Cleveland, and an Allen pass under pressure was tipped and intercepted for a TD. The Cleveland defense wasn't even making great plays, they just benefited from Houston's ineptitude. I could have won this game for Cleveland just handing the ball off literally every play.

The much awaited return of Deshaun Watson was...exactly what RC and I have been speculating for months, a complete letdown to casual fans and analysts. Watson was quite obviously rusty, slinging multiple passes in the dirt, he isn't totally comfortable with the offense yet...Jacoby Brissett is 100% the better option for this team right this second. Maybe Watson gets better with time. You'd expect that to happen. But this was as shaky a start as Watson could have had.

Cleveland has 5 games to go and could lose all of them realistically, but they'll probably win 2 or so. I don't see how they get close to the playoffs because they would need to win out.

Fantasy Player Notes:

I said before that Watson is clearly rusty (how could he not be after 2 years off?) but this was really worse than just rusty. Things looked to be moving fast for him, he was under a decent amount of pressure, and was spraying a few passes, they were backed up on their own goal line a few times which is always tough, but he did have some nice moments too. He had a couple of nice strikes over the middle, vintage Watson passes, a few drops, and some good passes on the move where he's at his best. He looked ok running as well, maybe a tick slower or more tentative than usual but mostly the same. The offense was very dumbed down, lots of simple throws and reads, clearly trying to ease Watson back into the game.

The overall performance was worse than I could have imagined. Jacoby Brissett hasn't been great this year but he is much better than what Watson just did. Watson only threw 22 passes here and that's part of it, I'm sure that number will come up, but clearly the team was trying to protect him and ease him back into the game and even the short, basic throws they gave him were strained.

I'm honestly not sure what to think about how to project this moving forward. Could Watson shake off the rust and get back to himself pretty quick? It's possible. But this was like watching Russell Wilson play this year, maybe worse, everything unsynchronized, just bad football. Is that magically going to get better with time? I don't know that for sure. I thought Russ would get things rolling and he never did. I don't see how you can FF-start Watson until he shows a lot more. My best guess is things will be better as he gets more time in but it will be inconsistent at best. 2022 might be a lost cause and we'll have to see if he can bounce back next year.

 – Amari Cooper is clearly the top target for Watson but unless Watson improves this is a clear downgrade from Brissett. They were not on the same page at all and Watson was struggling to even get a catchable ball in Cooper's direction.

DPJ had a fantastic punt return TD here showing off his athleticism but it's just a shame how underused he is in this offense and that doesn't look like it's getting any better with Watson under center now either.

 – Kyle Allen played a better game than I expected. The turnovers were kind of fluky, a fumble on a QB sneak out of his endzone and an interception while trying to throw around three defenders in his face on a screen pass. He provided more energy than Davis Mills that's for sure but he's also sailing a bunch of passes very high and is more reckless with the football. I'd still go Mills personally because I do believe he can be a solid, capable starter with more help. Allen certainly isn't an upgrade and Houston absolutely would have won this game without the turnovers which is something that Mills likely wouldn't have caused at minimum.

The fact that the team was willing to try out Allen means they are definitely going to look long and hard at a QB in the draft. It's a mistake in my opinion, but obviously they aren't consulting me.

 – Nico Collins saved his day with a short TD but I don't love this connection even though he's getting the targets of a #1 WR. He's another big bodied receiver that doesn't separate well and that's trouble with a QB that struggles with accuracy like Allen. I don't see signs of a true #1 here even with better QB play. Nico looks like a solid #2 that's struggling against better coverage.

 – As predicted Dameon Pierce was back to getting his normal workload but it didn't help much for fantasy. This offense is just so atrocious that he never gets a shot at any short TDs and they don't use him in the passing game to supplement his ground game. He's an RB2 on volume that prays for a TD to give you a decent day.

IDP Notes:

 – Jalen Pitre had a monster day out of nowhere with 16 tackles, 1 pd, and an INT. He's been solid this year but nothing like this and I don't expect it's part of a new trend. He was feasting on all the Cleveland runs getting to the second level where he could clean it up but it wasn't him dominating the offense or anything. I barely noticed him on tape and never would have expected to see 16 tackles on the box score. He's a good young player clearly, but he's still developing and it's hard to tell how good he might be on this sorry defense.

Snap Counts of Interest:

60 = DPJ

51 = Cooper

32 = Chubb

24 = Hunt

40 = Pharaoh Brown

36 = Bryant

47 = Collins

46 = Dorsett

36 = Moore

47 = Pierce

46 = Quitoriano

34 = Akins