The 2023 Cleveland Browns had a taste of the playoffs as a Wild Card team. However, as general manager Andrew Berry underlined during his season-ending press conference, winning the division and hosting a playoff game remain one of the organization’s primary goals.
While quarterback Deshaun Watson recovers from shoulder surgery with hopes of contributing to the cause in 2024, he’s searching for any advise he can get to make that ambition a reality.
In the most recent episode of the QB Unplugged Podcast, which Watson co-hosts with his personal coach Quincy Avery, retired Steelers safety turned ESPN analyst Ryan Clark joined the conversation, and Watson sought advise from the Super Bowl Champion on what it takes to win the AFC North.
“It’s a very different a very different division than it was when I play, obviously,” said Clark. But one thing is constant: it’s tough. Right?
“…I believe you learn that if you do not fight through injury and play well in the fourth quarter, you will not win. There will be physicality involved. Within that division. You think that everyone has fantastic rushers. That’s what the AFC North was built on, whether it’s Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Trey Hendrickson, or Justin Madubuike. “The rushers are all over the place.”
Clark is correct; the AFC North has a reputation for being a physical division. Rugged defence and running the football are hallmarks of what many fans of the Browns, Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals refer to as “AFC North football.”
This past season, the Browns quarterback demonstrated his ability to handle the physical grind while playing through the division’s toughest opponents. In his final game of the season, Watson led a 14-point comeback against the Ravens, going 14-for-14 for 134 yards and a score in the second half to secure a 33-31 victory. Two days later, it was discovered that he had played the most of the game with a fractured glenoid in his throwing shoulder. His season had ended, but Watson’s toughness was on full display.
There is one significant difference in the outlook of the AFC North teams today compared to when Clark played.
“The difference is now is the quarterbacks are really good,” he went on to say. “I believe that’s why you struggle if you’re a Pittsburgh because, like, when you draft Kenny [Pickett], Kenny needs to play at a higher level because you’re going to face Lamar [Jackson], Joe [Burrow], and Deshaun twice a year. It wasn’t like that when I started playing. We had Ben [Roethlisberger], who was the division’s greatest quarterback for a long time. Joe [Flacco] stepped in and played briefly against Carson [Palmer] and Andy [Dalton]. Cleveland had a revolving door of bad individuals.
It’s no secret that the Browns lacked quarterback depth compared to their division opponents from 2006 to 2013. Oddly enough, the script has turned a decade later, with Clark’s Steelers playing catch-up under centre.
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