Different season, same problem as Jaguars try to beat Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson hasn't been able to count on much since his last full NFL season with the Houston Texans in 2020 because of a combination of team and NFL disciplinary action due to sexual harassment issues and debilitating injuries.

Watson has played only 19 games since then, all with Cleveland. He was on the "non-injury reserve" list with the Texans in 2021, and after Cleveland traded six draft picks for him (three in the first round from 2022-24) Watson was suspended for 11 games in 2022 and played in only six games in 2023 because of a shoulder injury.

He then missed 10 games in 2024 and all of the 2025 season with an Achilles Tendon injury.

What Watson has been able to count on is beating the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Watson is 7-0 as a starter against

the Jags, six games with Houston from 2019-2020 and the last time the Jags played the Brown in the 2024 home opener, an 18-13 loss at EverBank Stadium. It was Watson's only victory in the seven games he started that season.

Watson and the Browns return to Jacksonville on Sept. 13 (1 p.m., CBS), as 8.5-point underdogs. But he's eager for the chance to prove that the injuries and personal issues are behind him and he's ready to lead in new coach Todd Monken's offense.

Watson said everything is "super," repeating the word as an adjective phrase several times during a news conference in Cleveland.

"I think I'm super-excited, I'm super-happy, I'm super blessed for the opportunity that this organization gave me, and I just want to be able to capitalize on it," Watson said. "I'm just present in this moment … just letting the days come to me. I don't want to rush it, and I don't want to try to drag it on. I just kind of enjoy each moment because I know how fast it can be taken away."

But it is really "super?"

Watson still facing off-field issues

When Monken named Watson the starter over Shedour Sanders on Aug. 24, the decision wasn't without controversy. Monken handed him the job after Watson completed 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and an interception in a home preseason game against Buffalo. Cleveland fans booed Watson, and some cheered when he left the game with a minor injury.

Watson later called the fan reaction in both regards "disrespectful."

His off-field issues also aren't completely gone. Watson was ticketed for going 86 mph in a 60-mph zone in Cleveland on Aug. 26 and entered a not-guilty plea on Sept. 9, with a trial date set for Sept. 23.

That's not a distraction he needed, especially since Watson is playing in the final year of a controversial five-year, $230 million contract that was fully guaranteed. Unless he stops figuring out ways to get in trouble or the Browns start winning more games with him under center, Watson might find offers in short supply after this season.

"I can't focus on the future; I got to focus on now," Watson said during his news conference on Sept. 9 in Berea, Ohio. "If I try to look ahead and I get distracted or not focusing on what I need to do now, then who knows what the future might hold? So all I can do is control these moments now, these opportunities I have now."

Watson said that in a way, he and Monken are in the same boat: Both might be facing their last chance to prove their worth in the NFL beyond this season.

"And I want to be just like [Monken] said," Watson went on. "He's 60; he feels like this is his shot. So me being on my last year of my deal and being year 10, I feel like this is my opportunity to be able to go and showcase that I can still play in this league, and I want to continue to play in this league. So this is my opportunity to do that."

Watson owned the Jaguars while at Houston

But, as history shows, Watson will always have the Jaguars. He tormented the Jags over a three-year period when the Texans won two of three AFC South titles and in going 6-0 as a starter, he threw for 1,373 yards, nine touchdowns, only two interceptions and gained 196 yards rushing (4.3 yards per carry) and scored twice.

Three of his seven victories over the Jaguars have come in Jacksonville, and one, in 2019, was in London. Watson completed 65 percent of his passes during that 6-0 streak with the Texans, with a passer rating of 97.55.

Watson wasn't lights-out in every victory over the Jaguars. In four of his seven victories, he threw for 201 yards or less but his defense took care of business, allowing the Jags to score an average of 8.7 points per game.

He's failed to throw a touchdown pass in three games vs. Jacksonville, but in all three games, he scored a touchdown rushing and gained 91 yards on 22 carries.

The Jaguars' pass rush has also gotten to Watson. He's been sacked 17 times in eight appearances vs. the Jags, four coming when Watson was a rookie and came in to play in the second half of a 29-7 loss to the Jags to open the 2017 season, and six were in a 2018 game ― which the Texans still won 20-3.

Jaguars defenders praise Watson

No Jaguar has played more games against Watson (five) than defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, and he said that even at 30, Watson poses the same perils.

"He's a hell of an athlete," Hines-Allen said on Sept. 9 after the Jaguars practiced at the Miller Electric Center. "Strong lower body, breaks a lot of tackles, does a really great job on extending the play. We've all got to populate to the ball."

Linebacker Foye Oluokun faced Watson in the 2024 game, and was with Atlanta in 2018 when Watson threw for a career-high 426 yards and matched his career-high with five TD passes when the Texans beat the Falcons 53-32.

"Great arm talent, great mobility," Oluokun said. "He's been in the league a long time so I'm sure he knows how to operate an offense."

"A dynamic player," added Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton.

Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said in the limited amount of film available, Watson still appears to have more than enough gas in the tank to create problems.

"I'm under the assumption, in watching him in the preseason, that he's capable of doing all of those things," he said.

Will Monken be able to unleash Watson?

Oluokun hinted at Watson's skill set being enhanced futhur under Monken, who was the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson for three seasons from 2023-2025.

As mobile as Watson is, will he be even more dangerous if he's been able to acclimate himself to a set of young receivers and Monken's system in the three weeks since he was named the starter?

"Their base offense is still traceable back through Monken stuff," Oluokun said. " ... the RPO [run-pass option] stuff and playing quarterback runs that they might implement in the red zone."

Hamilton said the defense can almost bet on it.

"There will be some Lamar-type plays in there," he said. "It will be very similar."

Jaguars coach Liam Coen, who has a healthy respect for Monken's experience and offensive mind, was equally convinced that Monken will try to replicate Watson's skill set with what he ran in Baltimore.

"There's going to be some similarities … there's absolutely going to be carryover to the things that they did well in Baltimore," Coen said.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Different season, same problem as Jaguars try to beat Deshaun Watson