Welcome to the Revenge Bowl

The QB Competition Four Years in the Making

This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns head down south to face the 0-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM CST.

As always, the Chicagoland Browns Backers will gather at Burke’s Public House (5401 N. Broadway) to cheer the team on. Come grab a drink with fellow fans and lock in for game day.

Just over four years ago, Baker Mayfield posted a 6-8 record in 14 starts, completing 60.5% of his passes with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That’s when the Cleveland front office decided to go all-in on acquiring Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson.

By 2022, Mayfield was shipped off to Carolina, while Watson landed in Cleveland under an 11-game suspension. Sunday marks the very first time these two signal-callers will go head-to-head on the same field.

Baker Mayfield built his entire career playing with a massive chip on his shoulder. You can bet he’s had this matchup circled on his calendar since schedule release day, eager to drop big numbers and humiliate a front office that dumped him for Watson.

Tale of the Tape: Mayfield vs. Watson

In four seasons since leaving Cleveland, Baker has put together a 30-34 record across three teams, posting a 94.5 passer rating with 105 touchdowns, 45 interceptions, and a 65.5% completion rate (7.1 YPA).

Watson’s run in Cleveland has been defined by injuries and suspensions. Across 21 games, he is 9-11 with an 81.3 passer rating, 20 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and 75 sacks taken.

Watson enters Week 2 coming off a disastrous 34-10 loss to Jacksonville, where he logged PFF’s lowest grade among starting QBs. He went 16-of-22 for 205 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.

Beyond redeeming himself, Watson needs to prove he deserves to keep the starting job over rookie Shedeur Sanders.

What We Learned from the Week 1 Debacle

Like most teams, Cleveland rested starters heavily in the preseason. Week 1 delivered our first real look at the squad under live regular-season conditions—and the film revealed serious flaws.

• Deshaun Watson is no longer a dual-threat QB. Shoulder surgery and two Achilles injuries have stripped away his playmaking speed. He struggled to evade interior defensive linemen, scrambled with his eyes down, and missed open receivers downfield.
• The passing attack was painfully conservative. Over 63% of Watson’s passes went for 9 yards or less. When a quarterback refuses to push the ball downfield, opposing secondary players sit on short routes and choke the offense.
• Unforced errors continue to hurt. Watson showed poor footwork and only found rhythm in 4th-quarter garbage time. He also took a brutal delay of game penalty on Jacksonville’s 4-yard line while Cleveland still held all 3 timeouts.

Despite Head Coach Todd Monken’s public backing, if Watson continues to anchor the league’s worst quarterback play, Shedeur Sanders taking over is inevitable.

Offense Line & Protection Issues

The offense struggled across the board, leaving plenty of work for first-year offensive coordinator Travis Switzer.

• Five new offensive linemen—including two rookies—yielded a brutal performance, surrendering 5 sacks for the highest sack rate in NFL Week 1. However, outlets such as PFF are saying all of the sacks are directly Watson’s fault and not the line’s.
• Cleveland converted a miserable 1 of 8 third downs (12.5%), ranking dead last in the league.
• Watson led the team in rushing with just 38 yards, while lead back Quinshon Judkins averaged a paltry 2.8 yards per carry.

The line must adjust quickly before facing a aggressive Tampa Bay defense that brought a 46% blitz rate (2nd-highest in Week 1) while holding Cincinnati to 3.9 yards per rush.

Shoutout to rookie guard Austin Barber, who earned the highest offensive PFF grade on the team.

Defensive Breakdown: Pressure & Tackling

Cleveland’s defense was a top-tier unit last year (ranking 4th in total defense and 3rd in pass defense), but Week 1 was a major step backward under new coordinator Mike Rutenberg.

• The defense missed 13 tackles (5th-most in Week 1). Veteran LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah registered an abysmal 29.9 PFF grade, while CB Denzel Ward led the team with a 90.5 rating.
• Trevor Lawrence torched the unit for a 150.6 passer rating (highest in the NFL), as Cleveland surrendered a 78.2% completion rate and 10.7 yards per pass.
• The pass rush failed to generate heat, finishing with the 23rd-lowest sack rate and 27th-lowest pressure rate.

Rutenberg must scheme up more pressure against Baker Mayfield, who completed 84% of his passes from a clean pocket last week.

Don’t Let Tampa Bay’s Score Fool You

Tampa Bay fell behind 21-3 against Cincinnati before mounting a strong second-half comeback, ultimately falling short 33-27.

Unlike the Browns, the Buccaneers showed real fight. Mayfield completed 23 of 28 passes (82%) for 216 yards, connecting on 19 of 20 targets to his wideouts and backs despite taking 4 sacks and losing three fumbles. Second-year receiver Emeka Egbuka led Tampa with 6 catches for 68 yards.

Cleveland called the lowest blitz rate in the NFL last week (12%). That strategy must change against Mayfield.

Last season, Baker completed over 68% of his passes from a clean pocket, but his completion percentage dropped to 55% with 6 TDs and 4 INTs when blitzed. Bringing heat on Sunday is the only way out of Tampa with a win.

[From the Editor: Thank you for reading and joining us again for this 2026 season – we hope to see you at Burke’s Irish Pub at 5401 N Broadway, Chicago IL for the games! Don’t forget to check out our Merch and our Socials. All Merch proceeds goes to charity!]