Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson out for Season, NFL Odds

After playing one of his best games for the Cleveland Browns in Sunday’s 33-31 win over the Ravens, quarterback Deshaun Watson will no longer be available for the rest of the season. On Wednesday it was revealed that he requires surgery to repair a shoulder fracture.

The Browns are home to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11 action on Sunday afternoon. They’re currently pegged at -2, a slimmer advantage than the -4 they benefitted from at the start of the week.

Browns’ QB DeShaun Watson Gone for Season

While Watson’s figures in Week 10 were not as lovely as, for example, his Week 3 performance versus the Tennessee Titans, the magnitude of the Baltimore game made his effort stand out more. The fact of the matter is that he outdueled Lamar Jackson in hostile territory against a Ravens squad that had flattened tough opposition in recent weeks.

Now the club must turn once again to backup PJ Walker. Walker had filled in for Watson earlier this season when the veteran suffered prior shoulder damage. The younger gunslinger’s stats don’t cry out for a vote of confidence. He’s thrown 98 passes, completed 48 (6.3 yards per completion), and tossed one TD against five picks.

Even so, the Browns benefit from the NFL’s number-one ranked defence, conceding only 242 total yards per game, 151 passing yards, and 18.4 points. It also has a solid 15 takeaways (nine INTs and six fumbles). Myles Garrett is second league-wide with 11 sacks and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is third with 12 tackles for losses. It’s not as though they don’t have the personnel to keep on winning, but the degree of the challenge is no doubt augmented.

The Super Bowl odds have taken a hit as well. Cleveland was +4000 before the Ravens game, but the news has dropped them to +5000 as of Wednesday, November 15.