Deshaun Watson says he deserves the blame after the Browns fall to 1-3

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For the second straight day, the Cleveland Browns had multiple opportunities to secure a win in the fourth quarter but fell short.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson said to blame him after Cleveland blew an early 10-0 lead and lost 20-16 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

“If I want to be the quarterback of this offense, we all have to be on top of our game,” said Watson, who finished 24 of 32 for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “And right now we’re not doing enough to get the ‘W.’

“So you can safely put it on me.”

While Watson’s 75% completion percentage and 84.9 rating were both season highs, the Browns (1-3) couldn’t take advantage of a Raiders team that was missing star players Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby.

The Browns led in all four games but fell to last place in the AFC North, tied with Cincinnati.

“We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Watson said. “Every single trip is an opportunity for us to collect points or to put ourselves in a good starting position for the next trip. But yeah, we just didn’t capitalize on it. We just have to find ways to continue to maintain the fast start that we have.”

Nearly half of the times Watson dropped back to pass was under duress. He took three sacks and was hurried 11 times. According to Stathead, the 11 runs were the second most in his career.

Watson was sacked 19 times, a career high in the first four games of a season.

Cleveland ranked 30th in offensive drives that ended in a score with a rate of 24.3% and scored on 2 of 7 drives on Sunday (22.7%).

The Browns have been plagued by injuries on offense and lost starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. last week, who injured his right knee in a loss to the New York Giants.

Cleveland was also without tackle Jack Conklin, guard Wyatt Teller and tight end David Njoku and lost center Ethan Pocic to an ankle injury in the first quarter.

Pocic came back in the third quarter but couldn’t break through, coach Kevin Stefanski said.

At this point, the Raiders were dominating the trenches. With Las Vegas leading 20-10 late in the third, Watson was sacked in the first and third and the Browns stumbled.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns had a chance to take the lead, but failed in the red zone. Watson fumbled a quick snap in the shotgun position on first down at the Las Vegas 16 and was under pressure when his pass was deflected on second down. After a third-down completion to Amari Cooper put Cleveland at the 9, Watson was sacked on fourth down with 41 seconds left.

Early in the fourth, Watson found a rushing Amari Cooper, who could have scored an 82-yard touchdown if not for a holding penalty on backup center Nick Harris.

“I thought Deshaun struggled,” Stefanski said. “There are obviously some really good moments there. It’s disappointing when you make a play and it comes back because of a penalty. Again, I haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment on that part. But I thought he fought.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl