It did not take long for Deshaun Watson to throw his first interception of the season. The most controversial quarterback in the NFL is not doing himself any favors on the field.
He wants so badly to be liked!
If Watson is going to change his image, he must win. No matter what NFL fans think of somebody, winning cures everything.
Deshaun Watson tried to boost his image during pregame.
There may not be a bigger fall from grace in NFL history. Deshaun Watson was the passing yards leader in 2020. He made three Pro Bowls. The Texans won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons.
And then came the allegations. Watson was sued by more than two dozen female massage therapists for sexual harassment and sexual assault, but he denies any wrongdoing and settled the majority of legal claims out of court.
Disagreements with Houston’s front office, in addition to the lawsuits, kept him off of the field in 2021. The Texans shipped him off to Cleveland in 2022. The Browns signed him to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history at the time of the signing.
As a result of the off-the-field allegations, Watson was suspended for 11 games in 2022. He missed time to due injury in 2023. He missed the majority of the season with a torn achilles tendon in 2024. The same injury also kept him out the entire season in 2025 after he posted a video without his walking boot on social media and later suffered a setback.
That leads us to 2026. Watson is back. He and Shedeur Sanders battled for the starting job during training camp. The veteran was ultimately named as QB1 despite widespread criticism from fans and analysts alike.
Most Browns fans don’t even want him on the field. Watson is universally disliked.
However, those same haters were thrilled to take a photo with their starting quarterback prior to the game in Jacksonville on Sunday. They were willing to give him a chance. At the very least, those photos will tell a (not-so) funny story in the future.
Deshaun Watson stopped on his way out to warmups to sign for fans. On his way back in he stopped for every single person on both sides of the tunnel. #espn #nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/FJUTn4fT4T
— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 13, 2026
Watson made sure to greet as many fans as he could out of the kindness of his heart. He wants you to see that he is a good guy.
It did not take long for the worst interception of the NFL season.
Even if Deshaun Watson made some amends with the Cleveland faithful who traveled to Florida during pregame, he immediately lost all of the ground he had gained on the first drive of the season. His third pass of the game was picked off by the Jaguars.
It was not a freak play where the ball bounced off of his receiver’s hands into the arms of a defensive back. It was not a good defensive play where a linebacker made a freak one-handed pick in front of the designed target. Nothing like that.
Watson threw the ball directly at the defense. There was not a wide receiver within five yards.
DESHAUN WATSON THROWS A TUNA MELT TO START THE SZN pic.twitter.com/vE0ngRyZSR
— wok (@wokdior) September 13, 2026
As of this writing, there are still more than 1,000 quarters of football to be played during the 2026-27 season. Watson’s first interception of the year is the definitive leader in the clubhouse for worst interception of the year.