Yikes.
Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns are looking for anything to hang their hat on early in the 2026 season. Watson’s year started off to a poor start with tons of training camp interceptions, preseason press conference meltdowns, and a pick on his very first drive of the season. The Browns earned a nice win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, and Week 3 is another winnable game against the Carolina Panthers.
As the Browns were trying to extend their lead in the third quarter, Watson got sacked by Carolina EDGE Princely Umanmielen on a key third down. A ref was watching the play the whole way through, but somehow missed that Umanmielen grabbed and twisted Watson’s facemask on the way to the ground. Watson is a bad guy, but this is still a terrible missed call by the refs. Watch the play here:
The ref is literally right there! How does he miss that call?
Watson doesn’t even have 70 yards passing entering the fourth quarter, but the Browns’ defense has been excellent so far against a Carolina offense that had been cooking to start the year. It’s hard for a team like the Browns to win when the refs are missing obvious calls going against them.
I just don’t think anyone is going to be crying for a guy like Watson.