Browns fans booed Deshaun Watson in the second half of a preseason game against the Bills. On Sunday, they cheered him.
Watson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:48 left to lift the Browns to a 21-18 upset of the Panthers. He finished with 144 yards and two touchdowns, along with 45 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Winning makes everyone happy.
“It was great. It was amazing. I just wanted to finish the job for them,” Watson said of the fans, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “There was one moment where I got a little teary-eyed, feeling that energy. I’ve put in so much work to get here, to be in this moment here and to be able to show I can finish these drives, and finish these games to get W’s for this city and this organization.
“This is what all the hard work, belief, prayers, everything that I have put myself through the last 22 months. To be able to stand in front of the crowd on that field and to finish the job. I want to keep improving and keep trying to get better each and every day, each week and we have a big one on Thursday [against the Steelers].”
After the home fans booed him last month, Watson made it worse by calling it “disrespectful” and “personal.” He apologized a few days later, saying his “emotions got the best of me.”
The only way to win them over was to play well and win, and Watson has done both.
The Browns are tied for first place with the other three teams in the division at 2-1, and Watson has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 587 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. He also has run for 105 yards.
He is the first Browns quarterback since Baker Mayfield in Weeks 14 and 15 of 2018 to lead game-winning touchdown drives in the fourth quarter of consecutive games, according to ESPN Research.
“We continued to feed off that energy of the crowd, and we wanted to make a special play,” Watson said. “I told the guys in the huddle, ‘Man, just [believe] in me and I’m going to use my legs.’ Whenever that play comes up, make that play, and Harold did.”
