Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had a tough Monday. He might have a tough Tuesday too.
Watson committed not one but two egregious facemask fouls in Pittsburgh, grabbing a pursuing defender by the cage and throwing him to the ground. As Chris Simms and I discussed on PFT Live on Tuesday, Watson appeared to be frustrated – either by the fact that he can no longer outrun pursuing defenders or by what opposing players were telling him up close about his off-field issues say. or both.
When did a player have two flagrant facemask fouls in a game? When has a quarterback ever had one? It’s one of the original safety rules that existed long before the years when the NFL downplayed and denied the risk of concussions.
Even a minor grab and tug on a face mask will be penalized and fined. Watson took it to the next level twice, throwing the players to the turf.
Then there was Watson’s push into an official during the scrum that broke out after his first facemask penalty. (And yes, it was a push.) Contact with an officer always requires ejection. This, coupled with everything else, could theoretically result in a ban.
Would the NFL suspend a franchise quarterback (or at least a quarterback who is paid like one)? The officials might have looked the other way when he should have been thrown out. When designing a penalty, will the ruler be influenced by his status and importance to his team and the game?
Whatever happens, someone has to calm him down. Last night something got under his skin and stayed there. Future opponents will surely try to repeat this every week until he shows that it doesn’t frustrate him.