Every team in the NFL has gained 300 yards of offense in a game at least once this season. Except the team that paid its quarterback the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history.
The Browns are the only team in the league without a 300-yard game, having topped out at 297 yards in their Week Two win over the Jaguars. They’re also averaging only 3.86 yards per play, dead last in the NFL.
Obviously, that’s another indictment of the Browns’ decision to trade three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-round picks to the Texans for Watson, and then to give Watson a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. No team has ever invested those kinds of resources in a player. And no team has ever had a worse return on its investment.
The reality is not only is Watson not playing well enough to justify the investment in him, he’s not even playing well enough to justify being a starter. That’s why the Browns never offered to bring back Joe Flacco. They know perfectly well that Flacco is better than Watson, and they know that their fans know that, and they didn’t want their fans clamoring for the $230 million man to be benched, so they let Flacco leave for an inexpensive $5 million contract in Indianapolis, where he just helped the Colts total 358 yards and win a game after Anthony Richardson was injured.
Six teams — the 49ers, Seahawks, Ravens, Packers, Lions and Colts — have gained at least 300 yards in all four games this season. Seven teams — the Raiders, Titans, Jets, Patriots, Broncos, Cardinals and Bears — have only done it once. The good news for the Browns is that Sunday they get the Commanders, who have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. If they can’t reach 300 yards against Washington, it may be a long time before they do.
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