Kevin Stefanski labels Deshaun Watson 'good' after return against Cardinals as Ravens loom

BEREA — Deshaun Watson's right shoulder appeared to come out of Sunday's 27-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals in decent shape. At least, it appeared that way in the moments shortly after the game's conclusion.

So, how did Watson feel when he got to the Browns facility Monday morning after having a night to sleep on it?

“Yep, he's good," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.

That could be seen as baby steps in Watson's return from an injury that has been a topic of unending conversation for more than a month. Sunday was the first time since Sept. 24 he played essentially a full game — it was the score, not necessarily the shoulder that led him to be pulled after the Browns went up 27-0 midway through the fourth quarter.

The twist of it all is that the first game Watson missed was an Oct. 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens (7-2), the same Ravens team the Browns (5-3) — theoretically with Watson this time — will face Sunday in Baltimore. The Browns lost 28-3 that day, with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson starting at quarterback on less than three hours' notice.

“Yeah, I mean, every team you kind of change as the season goes on, so I'm sure they're going to be doing things a little bit differently," Stefanski said. "I know you always have guys in and out of the lineup on both sides, so matchups may be different in certain areas. So those are the things that we'll get started on this afternoon.”

Watson's only other attempt at playing since hurting the shoulder in a late-September win over the Tennessee Titans was Oct. 22 at the Indianapolis Colts. He lasted 12 plays, going 1-of-5 passing for 5 yards with an interception before Stefanski pulled him out of caution after a late-first quarter hit.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt acknowledged the next week that part of the decision was because the coaches didn't like what they saw on Watson's first deep throw, which ended up being intercepted. Watson himself acknowledged it might have been too quick for him to get back on the field in that game.

Watson was 19-of-30 passing for 219 yards with two touchdowns against the Cardinals. He showed good arm strength on two deep shots to Amari Cooper, but also appeared to struggle at times with consistency throwing many of the short passes.

“I get to see him in practice, I get to see him in games," Stefanski said. "You're going to have some misses. Not many people are throwing 100% on a completion percentage, but the balls that he threw, two in particular stick out — the one to Amari, the deep one, and then the earlier play action to Amari in stride. I thought he made really good decisions, but he's a good player and he made some big plays for us yesterday.”

Cooper was targeted five times, catching five, for 139 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jerome Ford was targeted seven times with five catches for 33 yards, while tight end David Njoku was targeted six times with four completions for 26 yards and a score.

That's 18 of the 28 possible targets for Watson. No other receiver had more than three, which isn't a concern in the moment for Stefanski.

"Yeah, I don't know that I really spend a lot of time thinking about the stats of it," Stefanski said "I think you know, we know, the opposing team knows Amari is a good football player. He gets a ton of attention that opens up other opportunities, but the ball goes where the ball goes. It's just based on coverage. All our guys are doing what they're supposed to do, and when the ball finds their way we have a ton of trust in all of our receivers, tight ends, you name them."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kevin Stefanski labels Deshaun Watson 'good' after return for Browns