Deshaun Watson wins over Cleveland fans with two touchdown passes in Browns upset

Deshaun Watson converted the Cleveland Browns home crowd from boos to cheers on Sunday as the team defeated the favored Carolina Panthers. The quarterback threw two passing touchdowns in a fourth-quarter comeback that erased a 12-10 deficit, marking his first regular-season home game since rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2024.

The shift in sentiment at Huntington Bank Field was immediate. Fans who had previously booed Watson from the Dawg Pound began chanting "Let's go Watson" before the final whistle. Watson said he heard the positivity from the stands and focused on giving the crowd something to cheer about. "I was hearing the crowd, the yelling the positivity," Watson said. "That's my main focus. I didn't hear any of [the boos], but at the same time, I was just trying to give them some thing to cheer about and we got that W so that's all that matters."

The approval followed a period of significant tension between Watson and the fanbase. During the preseason, Watson described the home crowd as "disrespectful" for booing him during his 2024 Achilles injury and his subsequent return to play. He characterized the conflict as "personal" and distinct from his on-field performance. That ire stemmed partly from Watson's contract, which paid him $184 million over four seasons, and his inability to live up to expectations during that period. It also related to his 2022 NFL suspension, which was tied to alleged sexual assaults of two dozen female massage therapists.

Watson's performance on Sunday offered a tangible response to those criticisms. He threw two touchdowns to secure the upset victory. Although he faced pressure, including a sack on a crucial third down by Carolina edge rusher Princely Umanmielen for a seven-yard loss, replays showed Umanmielen grabbing and twisting Watson's facemask without an official call. Despite that incident, Watson heard little but approval from the home crowd in the second half.

This was Watson's first regular-season home appearance this season and his first since the 2024 injury game. He described the anticipation and anxiousness leading up to the game, stating he wanted to play perfectly. "The energy, the fans, it was amazing," Watson said. "They kept believing in us. They kept the energy up ... And we just continued to feed off that energy of the crowd." The win provided a clear moment of reconciliation for a quarterback who had previously struggled to connect with his home supporters.