QB Deshaun Watson (9.16.26)
Deshaun, after the game, you said you felt like your back was against the wall. Why do you feel like that?
“Back against the wall? When?”
At the end of the game, you said your back was against the wall. Can you talk about your emotions, and everything involved in playing for the first time in a long time?
“I don’t even know how to answer that. I don’t remember the question, so I don’t know the context behind that. If you can remind me the context behind how I worded it?”
The notion of going up against Baker Mayfield, when everybody kind of knows how he feels about what went down here, how he’s probably going to play with his hair on fire this week, and he’s coming off three fumbles. What’s that going to be like for you guys to head into that type of situation?
“Honestly, I’m not even sure. I think that’s a defensive player question. My main focus is trying to figure out what their defense is doing so we can find ways to be successful and get points. So, as far as that, I respect Baker and everything he’s done ever since college. We’ve been playing against each other since college, so he’s a hell of a player, a hell of a quarterback, and they paid him for a reason.”
Any of the things that went wrong, offensive line and you, you and receivers, how do you, in such a short amount of time within a season, I know it’s only week two, but how do you elevate that and make sure everybody’s on the same page and in sync a little more than maybe you guys were?
“Yeah, we just got to adjust. Jacksonville did a little bit of different things to take away our schemes on the route concepts. And then, after the first turnover, we couldn’t get that momentum back. They did a heck of a job. That’s a team that was close to beating Buffalo last year and moving forward in the playoffs, and they brought everyone back. So, we just got to try to shift that momentum whenever it goes against us, especially on the road, and try to find successful drives to get points and turn it around.”
Todd (Monken) said Monday that he saw some things in you that you could build on. Do you agree with that? And what are those?
“Yeah, there’s always things that you can build on. Again, it’s my first real game in two years, so there’s some good things, there’s some things we want to correct. Just overall, been operating as a quarterback and finding a way to, like I just mentioned, create successful drives, get points on the board so we can have a chance to win the game.”
People often say that week one is a liar. Do you feel like people, media in particular, put too much stock into week one, and obviously it’s the first time overall, the offensive line, first time you guys all playing together. Do you feel like maybe it’s too much stock put into week one?
“I’m not sure. We got to take it one week at a time. In this locker room, especially with (Todd) Monken leading the way, he preaches that we’re not going to fall into the media trap of what’s going on outside. We got to find ways to get better each and every week. This is the NFL, this is week to week. You can be the best team one week and then the next week everything can kind of deploy. So, it’s week to week, and we’re focused on Tampa Bay this week.”
How much of a confidence booster was that 46-yard touchdown pass, and what was that like to be able to connect with Denzel (Boston) on that?
“It was great. It was great to be able to throw it deep, and it was great for me to give Denzel his first NFL touchdown. That’s what I was excited about. He was happy for it, and it was good to be able to see him make that play, and hopefully we can build on that.”
What did it mean that Todd stuck with you after a rough week one, and was there any doubt in your mind that you were going to be the starter this week?
“Nah, I didn’t hear anything, so I didn’t hear anything about that.”
When you look at Tampa Bay’s defense on tape, what do you have to be on alert for? What challenges do they present to you?
“Yeah, they present a lot of different things, especially protection-wise. They’re going to challenge you, bringing guys from all over the place and disguising coverages, trying to spin out the defense and make us make the right decision as a quarterback with the ball, especially with the protections, picking up the right guy. And in the run game, just trying to fit every run scheme that we have correctly. So, they present that very well, and we got to make sure each and every play we’re on our A-game so we can execute at a high level.”
In training camp, it looked like you and (Harold) Fannin had a good connection. I saw a lot of throws to him. What happened Sunday? Why wasn’t he targeted much in the game?
“I’m not really sure why, exactly. I guess every team is going to scheme up differently, so it’s just the way the flow of the game went. We just try to find ways to get the ball out and keep guys in space as much as possible. So, I guess that’s just how the game went.”
You know you can control a narrative and silence critics by playing well. What gives you the confidence you’re going to bounce back in week two?
“Just continue to stack days. That’s the biggest thing. Just continue to stack days, keep improving, keep focusing on what our mentality is here, and just trying to find ways to get better. That’s pretty much it.”
What do you feel like you did well Sunday, though? Tony (Grossi) mentioned Todd said there were things on the tape that looked real good. What did you like?
“Finding completions, operating well. That’s pretty much it. We had one turnover and that one sack fumble, obviously we’ve got to protect the ball, but we recovered it. That’s pretty much it, for real. We just didn’t have opportunities in the red zone to get points. Only six incompletions, one of them was a pick, one was at the end of the half on a tipped ball, two missed throws, and then a throwaway.”
Do you feel like you have to have a really good individual performance this game to make sure you not only get the nod for the home opener, but so you have some goodwill built up so that return home goes really well?
“No, I think, personally, I think all that is for the media. I think the media has this expectation that I’m supposed to throw 400 yards, five touchdowns every week. So, until that happens, I guess it’s going to be the same situation. So again, my job is to make sure I’m operating well so we can try to get a win and keep moving forward from there.”
You had four rookies in the huddle with you on Sunday. What was your assessment in real time, and then when you watched the tape back of how those guys performed around you throughout the game?
“I think those guys did good for their first NFL regular-season game. Operating well, those guys played hard, tried their best. I’m not sure, individually, what their position coaches wanted them to correct throughout, but I think overall they did exactly what we expected. You just got to continue to just improve each and every week and try to get those guys to be the best that they can be.”
How have you seen Spencer (Fano) grow at that left tackle spot, and obviously knowing that’s on your side, how is he just growing in that role to help you?
“Yeah, his confidence, his knowledge of the game, being able to communicate, point out different pressure looks. You can see him asking all the veteran guys questions. And then throughout the play drive, just communicating how the defense is playing, the down-and-distance, all the little things that a left tackle is required to know and try to communicate within the huddle. He’s been doing a heck of a job. We’re going to keep pushing him and keep improving.”
You guys had so many procedural issues and penalties in that game. Do you feel confident you can get those cleaned up for this game? And what the heck was kind of going on last week with all of that?
“Yeah, we just got to get in and out of the huddle. It was early on, loud, and just everybody, we have different, multiple plays in one play call, so being able to hear everything, get off, get set up, see what the defense is doing, motion, signals, all these different things. We definitely need to work hard on that, and that’s one of the main focuses. Before we can even have success on the drive, we’ve got to be able to operate at a high level.”
When would you like to get to the line of scrimmage? How many seconds left?
“It just depends on the play call. We have short play calls, we have long play calls, so it just depends on that.”
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