EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Deshaun Watson is making plays in the clutch, the Cleveland Browns are winning and they're doing it late in games.
They're perhaps the NFL's most surprising team, off to a 3-1 start that has them tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North.
“It's still early,” first-year coach Todd Monken said. "I mean, we still have a marathon rest of the season to go. But up until this point, I think our guys have just done exactly what they’ve
done since I’ve gotten here, and that’s just practice and work and believe, stay connected.
“Some of our non-negotiables, I think, helps you through that. And you've got to have enough guys that make plays.”
And a lot of that starts with Watson, who's coming off a performance against Pittsburgh last week during which he went 24 of 33 for 268 yards and one touchdown with one interception in the Browns’ highest-scoring game this season. It was the third straight game Cleveland has rallied in the fourth quarter to win.
“We always have hope until the game is over,” Watson said. "The game is never over. So, we believe that we can go in and win and play with anybody. And I think that’s what helped us in the final drives of these last couple of games.”
Watson and the Browns will try for the team's first four-game winning streak since 2023 when they take on the struggling New York Jets (1-3) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
“I mean, that’s the No. 1 priority — priority No. 1," Watson said. "That’s the whole thing. That’s the whole reason why we come in every day and put the work in, is to try to win.”
That echoes what Aaron Glenn and the Jets are saying, but the results have been less than favorable.
New York is on a three-game skid since winning its season opener at Tennessee and was thoroughly dominated in a 23-12 loss at Chicago last Sunday. The Bears had more first downs (34) than the Jets had offensive plays for the entire game (32).
“Our urgency, our practice habits, the way we take the field on Sunday has to match the stakes,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “I definitely feel like this facility will respond to that. We all feel that. We all know what we’re chasing here. So it starts now."
Glenn is 4-17 as the Jets' coach and is the target of many frustrated fans' ire. New York has the NFL's longest active postseason drought at 15 straight years and knows it needs to start stacking some wins to keep from adding this season to that dubious list.
“For me, yeah, we’re always urgent,” quarterback Geno Smith said. "No game is more important than the next, and this game in front of us is going to be the game that we have to take care of. Nothing else matters.”
Cleveland (3-1) at New York Jets (1-3)
When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.
Latest odds: Jets by 1 1/2.
Against the spread: Browns 3-1; Jets 2-2.
Last week: Browns beat Steelers 27-24; Jets lost to Bears 23-12.
Last meeting: Jets won 27-20 on Nov. 9, 2025, in Cleveland.
Series record: Browns lead 16-15.
Jets QB Geno Smith vs. Browns defense: Cleveland has a 51.1% pressure rate when blitzing quarterbacks, fourth highest in the league. Smith has completed 64.7% of his passes when under pressure against the blitz, averaging 9.8 yards per attempt. Garrett Wilson has six receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown when Smith has thrown under pressure when facing a blitz.
— The Browns and Jets are playing for the fourth time in five seasons. New York has won two of the past three.
— Cleveland is 3-1 for the first time since 2021 and will try for its first 4-1 start since the 2020 season, when the Browns went 11-5 and lost at Kansas City in the AFC divisional round after winning at Pittsburgh in the wild-card round.
— Cleveland WR Denzel Boston leads NFL rookies with 284 yards receiving. Eight of his 22 targets have been on deep balls of at least 20 yards through the air.
— The most recent Browns quarterback before Watson to lead three straight fourth-quarter comebacks was Brian Sipe in 1979.
— Cleveland has not allowed a 300-yard passer in 49 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. The most recent to do so was Indianapolis' Gardner Minshew on Oct. 22, 2023.
— The Jets are trying to avoid the 15th 1-4 start in franchise. Only one of those teams made the playoffs, in 2002 when New York finished 9-7.
— Glenn’s 4-17 record through 21 games is the second-worst mark in franchise history, behind only Rich Kotite, who was 3-18 and finished 4-28 over the 1995 and '96 seasons.
— S Minkah Fitzpatrick ended the Jets' NFL-record 20-game interception drought last week. New York had three other INTs, but they were all nullified by penalties.
— The Jets had 12 accepted penalties in Chicago and rank fifth in the NFL with 37 this season. The Browns lead the league with 43.
— Smith has no interceptions through four games and just one turnover, a fumble against Detroit in Week 3.
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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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