QB Deshaun Watson (9.27.26)
Describe your emotions, the whole day in general from the start to end:
“Yes – the moment I woke up, the anticipation, the anxiousness, everything. Just get in front of the fans, just to get here, and get started. I wanted to play perfect so bad, it’s the NFL. That’s the way the game’s going to go. Ups and downs. The energy, the fans, it was amazing. They kept believing in us, they kept the energy up. I know there was a little lull in the game, but that’s going to happen. But overall, we didn’t give up and we fed off their energy. The defense made stops, they did a great job at the end, keeping them to field goals and giving us a chance. We continued to feed off that energy of the crowd and we wanted to make a special play. I told the guys in the huddle, man just believing in me and I’m going to use my legs. Whenever that play comes up, make that play and Harold (Fannin) did.”
How did it feel when you went out for that one play and when you came back in, the fans were chanting for you?
“It was great. It was amazing. I just wanted to finish the job for them. 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.”
Besides the win, what were you most proud of?
“The resiliency throughout the team. The defense – they played a heck of a job. Special teams getting the points when we needed, getting the stops and they gave us a chance. And the offense never gives up. As I mentioned, there’s going to be ups and downs through the flow of the game. Carolina has a really good team and plays a really strong defense. They make you earn it and don’t give you many big plays. They did a lot of different things, even though they were banged. Switching up the coverages and things. We stayed in it, (Coach) Monken stayed in it and when we needed the big drive, we took advantage of it and capitalized.”
What did it feel like – Todd Monken came out earlier in the week and said, ‘I want him to let it rip, what does he have tp fear?’ So many of your teammates saying the same thing, that they were totally going to have your back 100%?
“They’ve been telling me that since the spring. That is the one big reason I continue to keep pushing strong. Even going into today, knowing that on the sideline, we keep believing in you, don’t worry about it, next drive, next play, it’s going to happen. Bad plays are going to happen, but at the same time, we believe in you. Go finish it, go be him, go be that guy we know you are. That just motivated me to go out on that field and finish that drive. It just means a lot to have that support within the locker room, my coaching staff, the players. You don’t get that often in my shoes, so it feels good.”
What happened on that last touchdown pass to Harold Fannin?
“It just broke down, I found a lane. During that whole drive, I just told the offensive line that if something happens, give me a lane and I’m going to make something happen with my feet. The guys and receivers, we practice this all the time – the scramble drill. Harold, he found a lane and I just put the ball in the air and gave him a chance. He made a play and he was ready for those moments. We’ve practiced for those moments since the spring and that was a special moment because everything we do in practice, that happened in the game.”
What happened on the play where you had to leave – was there a penalty? Why did you have to leave?
“I just lost my breath. I guess they thought it was my head. I just lost my breath. I was trying to get up and I asked the guys if there was a flag. I just didn’t grab their hand, I was just trying to catch my breath, honestly.”
Did you feel like it should have been a flag? Was it a penalty?
“Oh yeah, I feel like a lot of things should have been a penalty (laughter. I don’t know what was going on. But hey, it happens.”
What happened on that play with the facemask? It looked like they got your facemask.
“They definitely got my facemask. It’s kind of funny, because I should have just gone down mid-play. I looked at the ref and was like, ‘Yo, my facemask’ and I turned around and got hit. I talked with him and he missed it, we can’t review it but we got the W.”
This is a long season, but how important is this win to you and the team?
“It’s very important. Games like last week, this game, it just shows that the game is never over. We have to play for 60 minutes. Regardless of what is happening. If it’s going good, we’re having success, we have to close it out. If we’re down and the momentum is shifting, we have to push through. This is what we work for, this is what we practice for right here. This is why Monken put us through the test during the week. It just shows that even though we’re young, new and a lot of inexperienced guys, we believe. We have that will and we want to feed off that city, that energy and have this whole city feel that same way. If we can do that, we can have something special going for us.”
What this in some ways a healing with the fans, with everything that you’ve been through, to be able to go out there, and there were a few boos, but to turn those into cheers, and to feel that joy in the stadium, did it make up for it?
“I didn’t hear any negativity, so for me, I was just hearing the crowd. The yells, the positivity, that was my main focus, so I didn’t hear any of that. But at the same time. I was trying to give them something that they could cheer about and we got that W, so that was all that mattered.”
What did you see on that first touchdown to Harold? And his growth in this offense?
“Harold is a playmaker. Just try to get the ball in his hands. If we can get the ball in his hands, and go at him as much as possible, special things are going to happen. But on that first touchdown, he made a play, and we thought that safety was going to run with him, but they didn’t and cut him loose. The O line gave me enough time to be able to see it and I just hit the ball out there and he made the catch. It was great to finish that drive, for sure.”
How have you seen guys like Mason Graham, make the quarterback’s life harder?
“Oh, it’s a lot. You push the pocket and you make them feel uncomfortable. They do a good job of doing that. Mason has been playing heck of a good football and all those guys, again, the defense played their tail off today to keep us in the game and make sure that we stay right there. Coach gave them a game ball, and I definitely agree with that. I mean, they earned it and we fed off them and managed to capitalize, it was awesome.”
Interior pressure probably feels different when it comes, doesn’t it?
“Uh, yeah, just push the pocket. You know they are sitting in your lap, so you can’t really make the throws. You have to throw it higher, or you have to kind of shift and move off your spot. That is the whole key of it, you have to move out of the spot and throw off the timing of crossing routes and things like that. If the inside of that pocket isn’t right, it can cause a lot of problems.”
You said it a couple of times, that you were telling guys in the huddle that you were going to make some plays with your legs, is that something that you wanted to make a big element of your game this season? And how did you regain the trust coming off those Achilles injuries?
“Yeah, I think the trust just comes from the work I put in. You know, my trainers, and my QB coach, everyone that’s a part of this organization that was there helping me. We put the tests in, we tried it, and just over time you mentally outgrow the fear of it, if it’s going to go it’s going to go. And also having Dr. Anderson tell it’s strong, just believe it and trust it. But that has always been part of my game, is being able to make plays with my legs, scramble a little bit, and what Coach Monken always says, two-play quarterback. And you know that can cause a lot of problems for the defense, and that’s when we need it at our best, in the two-minute drive and that’s what happened.”
What is it about the fourth quarter and getting to that point that you feel like you’ve been able to finish all three of those games?
“If you look up the history of my career, dating back to really high school but college. I’ve always just been really good in the fourth quarter. I don’t know if it’s just the flow of the game, the reps, being able to see different things, my memory bank. It’s just, fourth quarters have always been special, especially when we’re in it, if you’re down or if you’re up, you gotta close it out. So that’s just my mentality, being able to have these opportunities, and that’s when the special players make special plays, and I want to be one of those chosen ones. That’s just always been in my history man.”
Were you able to keep the game ball since it was such an important game for you today?
“I did. I kept the one I kneeled with, and then Monk gave me one, so that was dope. It was cool to be able to receive those.”
What do you think, when you look back, will make today so special?
“I think just, from all the adversity that I’ve dealt with over the years and be able to finish out a game like this, regardless of the energy the outside might feel or see, it just shows the character and the person I am, and how strong mentally I am, and that regardless of what’s going on I’m to fight like hell to accomplish what I want to accomplish, and that is to get the W, regardless of what the chaos is outside, good or bad. It was a great win, definitely one of the top ones, super fun, and hell, let’s go Cleveland, for sure. It’s for the city, most definitely.
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