The Cleveland Browns entered the 2024 NFL season with two former No. 1 overall draft selections at quarterback in Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston.
With a return trip to the playoffs as the expectation, the duo appeared ready for a strong year.
However, neither quarterback lived up to those expectations.
The Browns were 1-6 in games started by Watson and 2-5 in games started by Winston.
With the Browns’ decision to bench Winston for Week 16, analyst Mike Sando shared how Cleveland fared with the two players under center through their seven starts.
Although Winston’s production was significantly stronger, the Browns offense ranked at the bottom of the league in expected points added regardless of which quarterback was in the game.
Winston led the Browns to a higher points per game total (18.6) than Watson (13.4).
The 30-year-old also helped the Browns gain more offensive yards per game (365.4 to 253.9) and score more touchdowns (16 to 11) in his seven starts.
The offense under Watson did a better job at protecting the football, giving up only eight turnovers in contrast to Winston’s offense committing 19 turnovers.
Watson’s output seemed significantly worse as the Browns failed to score more than 18 points in any game he started this season.
Winston had a better performance right away, posting 29 points in a win against the Baltimore Ravens in his first start.
He also set a franchise record against the Denver Broncos, throwing for 497 yards in a loss on “Monday Night Football.”