Commanders’ Jonathan Allen has a simple explanation for Deshaun Watson’s on-field struggles

The Washington Commanders dominated the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, thanks in part to a tremendous defensive performance. The Commanders sacked Deshaun Watson a whopping seven times in the 34-13 win. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen recorded one of those himself and played a big role in putting continued pressure on the oft-maligned quarterback, whose spot is as hot as can be after a terrible start to the 2024 season.

In a radio interview with 106.7 The Fan on Tuesday, Allen provided a fairly candid assessment of what ails Watson – a lack of confidence.

“If I’m being honest, he looked like a player who had a lot going on above the shoulders,” Allen said, according to The Fan. “It’s definitely a confidence thing. I always tell people it doesn’t matter how great a player is, if you don’t have confidence you’re not a good player.”

“Mentally, if you’re not that good at the top because you don’t have confidence, you won’t play freely, you’ll think, you’ll react slower. So I would say that’s probably the biggest difference for him right now.”

So far in 2024, Watson is on pace to break the all-time sack and yards lost by sack records. His Browns offense has yet to score more than 18 points in a game and the team is in the basement of the AFC North. Regardless of the reason, he is playing so poorly that the season is on the verge of disaster after just five weeks.

If Allen is right, Watson will need to get his confidence back if the Browns have any hope of competing this year.