CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson took questions from reporters on Sunday from Cleveland Browns Stadium regarding the 27-0 win over Arizona, looking ahead to Baltimore, and more.
Below is the transcript as provided by the Browns media relations department:
“It feels good. This is what I’ve been preparing and training very hard to get back to. Just to get out there and play free and be able to be very close to myself and just go out there and compete and have fun with my teammates, and that’s what today brought.”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s part of football, so I didn’t want to go out there and like I said before, just play handicap or hold myself to a disadvantage because of an injury that I had before, so came out healthy. I feel good, and you just got to keep going and striving each and every day.”
“I’m not 100%. I just came from an injury, so yeah, I just miss whatever. I was 19 for 30, so I miss a couple of throws that I want, that I know I can make, and, yeah, we just got to keep striving, and I’m striving to get better each and every opportunity that I get.”
“Probably Monday or Tuesday.”
“No. I knew I was going to be able to have opportunities to use my feet and run the ball, but if I don’t have to a couple of times, I just toss it to Jerome (Ford) and let him run it. So, it’s best for them to be able to get the ball in their hands and make plays. That’s what their skill positions are for. So instead of me taking off, I just give it to them and then whenever I need to, I can do that, too.”
“It wasn’t really a confidence boost. I already knew I can do that. So, like I said before, I’ve been preparing for the last six weeks to come out here and try to perform as best I can, and that’s how it was. I just stayed the course, blocked out the noise, and I know my body and I know the training staff and the medical protocols that we went through to get back to the stage.”
“Yeah, we just saw a look that was their kind of pressure of the day or kind of look of the day on third down, let’s try to double two. And they’ve been doing it all game and we had a couple of opportunities that I missed. Marquise (Goodwin) down the middle one time, I think another time where I flipped it, flipped the protection, they bluffed out. And then the second time they brought it, I didn’t get to flip it because the clock was going. So, we kind of knew that was their flavor of the day. And if we saw that same look, let’s match protect and let’s see if we get a shot. Just throw up you know, we just kind of drew it up on the sideline and it say that slant.”
“Either make it hit the ground or two get it and two got it. So, it kind of worked out in our favor today. So it was awesome.”
“Yeah, it’s tough. I mean, injuries, of course, it’s part of the game, but you never want any injuries like that. And praying for Jed and we all told him that we’re right here supporting him. He’s going to get through. I’m not sure what the injury is, but we’ll find out tomorrow. But we’re going to be right there supporting him. And whenever you get the opportunity to come back and get back on that field, I know he’s going to be ready to go. So just one of those plays where he got wrote up on and crazy injury.”
“No. Like I said before, it’s part of football. One play can be a changing injury. So, like I said, when I step on the field, I’m not worried about that. I’m going out there and try to be the best I can be and try to make every throw and try to make sure that I go out there and have positivity for that energy for the offense. So, I’m not thinking about a hit or anything like that. I’m just going out there trying to execute the play.”
“No, our main focus was Arizona. We wasn’t thinking about Baltimore, so we was focused on Arizona. We’re going to celebrate this win and then whenever we get back in the facility sometime next week, Tuesday, then we’ll focus on Baltimore. So, every win is a great win in the NFL, regardless of the record, regardless of the team, every win is hard to do. So yeah, we’re going to enjoy this and then later on this week, once we flip the page, after we watch the tape, focus on Baltimore.”
“It’s always good. Like I said before, I just didn’t listen to the outside noise because people don’t understand what’s going on. It’s just kind of whatever opinions they want to have, and they’re entitled to those opinions. So, for me, it wasn’t going to stop me for doing what I’m doing. So, I knew when I was going to be ready, and the opportunity came to speak and went out there and played pretty decent to help the team win.
“Heck of a job. Just to get a goose egg in the NFL is tough to I mean, they did a great job, played complimentary football, special teams, did a good job of flipping the field, playing field position, and it was a complete game. Of course, we left a lot on the field, but it was good to be able to get this W.”
‘That’s Reem, that’s what he do. He’s a tough running back, very smart, but he’s a competitor and he want to do whatever he can. He’s going to do the dirty job for the running backs, get the tough yards, and if he has the opportunity to get in the end zone, ge’s going to make sure you do that. So I like my chances with Kareem, especially on the goal line, for sure.”
“There’s no ceiling, sky’s wide open. So, we’re going to go as far as we want to take us and we got to just keep stacking with it days, keep stacking these wins and focus on that. We don’t put a ceiling on ourselves, we don’t pick any limitations. So, like I said, we focus on what’s in Berea in that facility and we go from there, from that locker room.”
“I mean, that’s every game. Some games you start off ten straight. Some games you start off five in a row. That’s incomplete. That’s part of the game. That’s part of all that. So you just got to continue to just keep pushing through. It’s a long game, long 60 minutes, and things can happen. Things can change fast. So, yeah, you just kind of just keep working through it and then let the game come to you. Can’t force it.”
“Yeah, he just knows he trusts what we see because we put the preparation in throughout the week, and that’s what we saw, and he wanted to make sure that he gave me the play and he gave me the opportunity to check it, and that’s what I did, and we capitalized on it. So, the more times we see that he trusts our preparation and we capitalize, then I think more opportunities. He will let us do that. So, it was cool.”
