Watson struggles, is booed in return with Browns

HOUSTON -- Quarterback Deshaun Watson struggled successful his archetypal crippled backmost playing against his erstwhile team.

Returning from an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL's idiosyncratic behaviour argumentation by committing intersexual assault, arsenic defined by the league, Watson failed to pb the Cleveland Browns connected a touchdown thrust Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Cleveland inactive defeated the league's worst squad 27-14 down 2 antiaircraft touchdowns and a punt-return people from Donovan Peoples-Jones -- the archetypal clip successful 33 years the Browns scored 3 non-offensive touchdowns.

Watson completed 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards successful his archetypal regular-season crippled successful precisely 700 days. He besides threw an interception successful the extremity portion that negated Cleveland's champion violative scoring opportunity.

Despite NRG Stadium being half-empty, Watson was loudly booed earlier each Browns drawback passim the game.

The Browns traded for Watson successful March, sending the Texans 3 first-round draught picks. Cleveland past signed Watson to a five-year woody worthy $230 cardinal guaranteed, the richest declaration successful NFL history.

Watson demanded a commercialized from the Texans aft the 2020 season. He was past accused by much than 2 twelve women of intersexual battle and different intersexual misconduct during massage sessions earlier helium sat retired the full 2021 season.

A fewer of those women had planned to be Sunday's game, according to their lawyer Tony Buzbee, who had said helium would beryllium astatine the crippled with them.

Over the summer, Watson agreed to settee 23 of the 24 civilian lawsuits against him. Two lawsuits against him stay outstanding, including 1 filed connected Oct. 13. Two different women filed transgression complaints against Watson but did not writer him.

Watson wasn't charged criminally. He has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing and said radical haven't been funny successful proceeding his broadside of the story.

As portion of the suspension colony betwixt the NFL and the NFL Players Association, Watson besides had to wage a $5 cardinal good and enactment successful a attraction program.

On Thursday, speaking for the archetypal clip since August, Watson declined to reply immoderate "non-football questions."

"At this time, I can't code immoderate of that stuff," Watson said erstwhile asked whether helium mightiness reply specified questions successful the future. "Who knows what the aboriginal holds? Right now, I'm truthful locked successful connected being the starting backmost of the Cleveland Browns."

Watson took a interruption during his pregame warmup Sunday to motion autographs for fans, immoderate wearing his No. 4 Browns oregon Texans jersey. Watson besides posed for selfies and photographs with fans.

Sarah Flores, a Houston season-ticket holder who had her reddish Texans No. 4 jersey signed by Watson, said she believed Watson was "100%" guiltless of the allegations made against him.

"Somebody arsenic palmy arsenic helium is would ne'er spell and jeopardize his vocation similar that," she said.

Outside the stadium successful the parking lot, a Texans tailgate acceptable up a mock massage array with a mannequin wearing Watson's Texans jersey with a motion that said, "complimentary unlicensed massages!!! Now serving #4."

Nearby, a instrumentality was wearing an orangish Browns garment with "FREE WATSON" connected the beforehand and "ALL HE WANTED WAS A HAPPY ENDING" connected the back. As the instrumentality walked up to NRG Stadium, helium led a "Here we spell Brownies" chant alongside a brace of women wearing brown-colored Watson jerseys.

Inside, a Texans instrumentality held up a motion that read: "I would alternatively beryllium 1-9-1 than person Deshaun Watson arsenic my quarterback."

Stewart Mathieson, a Houston instrumentality from Scotland who bought pregame sideline passes for this game, repurposed his bluish Texans Watson jersey with the connection "JUSTICE 4 WOMEN." The beforehand of the jersey had the words "BROWNS SHAME" stitched beneath the No. 4.

"Some of my Browns friends [in Scotland] person fixed up supporting the squad due to the fact that of Watson," said Mathieson, who flew successful for the crippled with his nephew, Christopher. "Am I going to boo him? Yeah, I'm going to boo him."