'Don't try to be a hero': Deshaun Watson talks about 8 sacks vs. Steelers

PITTSBURGH ― Deshaun Watson shook off the wicked helmet-to-helmet he took on the Browns' third play. The cumulative effect of all of the other hits the quarterback would take from the Pittsburgh Steelers over the next 57 minutes or so would be way too much.There were a multitude of reasons why the Browns' regular-season losing streak in Pittsburgh increased to 23 in a row with the 27-6 loss Nov. 1 to the Steelers. The number of times Watson was sacked, a career-high-tying eight times, by the Steelers' defense was very high on the list."Yeah, just tough," Watson said after the Browns fell out of first place in the AFC North and to 5-3 on the season. "Just got to get rid of the ball, try to find completions as much as I possibly can, try to find my checkdowns. So just really just try to get the ball in my hands and don't try to be a hero, try to make the play, extend the play as much as possible. Just kind of understanding the game and the situation."Subscribe to Browns Insider newsletterThe tone of the game was set on the first three plays. After Quinshon Judkins ran for four yards to open the game, Watson was sacked by Keeanu Benton and Alex Highsmith on second down, then was hit late by safety Jaquan Brisker on third down, drawing a roughing-the-passer flag, while also sending Watson to the medical tent for evaluation for a concussion.Shedeur Sanders, for the second time this season, came on due to Watson taking a roughing penalty. He finished out the possession, which featured a holding penalty, a minimal Judkins gain and a fumble by tight end Harold Fannin Jr. ― after a Steeler challenge ― to give Pittsburgh the ball at the Cleveland 42.Watson said the medical staff was "just checking," and he was out of the tent and putting his helmet back on by the time Fannin's fumble occurred. His return wasn't enough, though, to prevent the hits from continuing, either for himself or the rest of the offense."I mean, we have to be better," left guard Zion Johnson said. "I mean, we can't let the quarterback get touched that much. But like I just said, we got to own our own mistakes and we got to fight like hell to fix it and come out next week even better than we were this week so that doesn't happen again."Watson, who refused to pin the sacks on his offensive line, had a final stat line that looked respectable: 27-of-39, 324 yards, 94.4 rating. The Browns offense, though, finished with just 300 total net yards, including just 34 net rushing yards.The run game netted a season-high 183 yards a week ago against the Tennessee Titans, which allowed Watson to post his first 300-yard passing game with the Browns. It also ran for 112 net yards, the third-highest total of the season, in the Week 4 win over the Steelers in Cleveland, maybe the second-best offensive performance of the season.That's where the Browns' struggles really started. That led to Watson needing to throw the ball significantly more than maybe they wanted to coming into the game."I think obviously as a help of the quarterback position, especially us at our position, that's something that you never really want to happen," said Judkins, who netted 25 yards on 11 carries. "You never want your quarterback to get hit. So it's unfortunate and I think we just got to go back to the drawing board and see what we can fix."Right tackle Tytus Howard mentioned Pittsburgh stacked the box more in the second meeting. Watson disputed that slightly, but did admit things the Steelers did to take away the run impacted the pass."I think they were just, not so much just stacking the box, but just adding an extra layer," Watson said. "They blitzed a lot more this time than they did that Thursday night. And that was to control the run game, throw off the run blocking points and the landmarks for the O-line and try to close up the gaps for the running backs. So again, they did a good job of doing that. We got to find ways to build success and correct that."The fine line between success and failure was there during the course of the game. The Browns had five of their final eight non-kneeldown possessions at least reach the Pittsburgh 30, and had a pair get inside the 5.Outside of Andre Szmyt's two second-quarter field goals, the last of which pulled the Browns within 13-6 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half, none resulted in points. The best true chance to potentially shift things came when they got the ball to the Steeler 2 with 13:49 remaining and trailing 27-6 thanks to a 37-yard pass to Fannin, who had 10 catches for 154 yards.Judkins lost three on first down, then Watson threw two incompletions. The fourth-down pass to the left side of the end zone saw rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston make a spectacular one-handed catch, only to only have one foot inbounds.“Yeah, I don't know," Boston said. "I didn't get my other foot down. You know what I mean? I just went up to go try to make a play. I just didn't get my other foot down. And that was that. I mean, that sucks, but it is what it is. It’s part of the game. I got to get the other foot down."The final ignominous moment for the Browns came to end the game. They used their final timeout with 22 seconds remaining after Boston's nine-yard catch put them at the Pittsburgh 1.Buy Cleveland Browns ticketsJudkins, again, was stuffed on the next play. The Browns, trying to rush one more play off, were flagged for a game-ending false start."We’ve all got to be better as a collective group," Howard said. "It's hard when you’re in a lot of passing situations with long yardage and you’ve got to be able to wait till somebody gets open. So we’ve got to do a better job on the first down, gaining positive yards in the run game and then it'll open up the pass game. We were in third and long too much and that's a recipe for bad business, you know what I'm saying? So we’ve just got to do better on first down and that’ll help us out in third down."Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Don't try to be a hero': Deshaun Watson talks about 8 sacks vs. SteelersOur editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.