Deshaun Watson will not be disciplined by the NFL after making contact with an official during the Browns‘ loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Monday. The incident in question came in the third quarter of the prime-time matchup where Watson scrambled out of bounds. As he scrambled, the QB grabbed the facemask of a pursuing Steelers defender and ended up receiving a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.
After the play, Watson could be seen jawing with the Steelers sideline and an official came in between the two parties and moved the quarterback back towards the field of play. It was at that juncture when Watson can be seen putting his hands on the official and shoving him aside before being corralled by his Cleveland teammates.
“Officials are called upon to maintain order on the field, and sometimes while performing those duties, there is inadvertent contact between players and officials,” the league said in a statement on Tuesday, via NFL Media. “In this instance, in their judgment, the contact did not rise to the level of a foul.”
It was a subpar night for Watson as he completed 22 of his 40 passes for 235 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the loss. He also had a strip-sack fumble that was recovered by T.J. Watt and returned for a touchdown that gave Pittsburgh the fourth-quarter lead. After the game, Watson said he played like “s—.”
Watson and the Browns will look to rebound off of this loss in Week 3 when they’ll head back to Cleveland to host the Tennessee Titans.
Go to Source
Author: Tyler Sullivan
September 19, 2023 | 1:30 pm
