Last night was a nightmare scenario for the Cleveland Browns that they sure woke up and wished was just that.

Losing Nick Chubb was a punch to the gut in the worst way for the Browns, they lost the heart and soul of their team. Unfortunately, Cleveland has some big issues to go along with that development.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson played his eighth game in Cleveland last night and has yet to have an actual solid game that convinced anyone he’s the franchise quarterback. There is plenty of time to right the ship, though it doesn’t look great right now.

Cleveland’s defense gave up just 12 points to the Steelers on Monday Night Football. That’s a performance that you win with nine out of 10 times, the issue was that Watson gift-wrapped Pittsburgh 14 points. Watson turned the ball over three times, two of them went for a touchdown. On the first play of the game, defensive end Alex Smith intercepted a tipped pass and took it 30 yards for a touchdown.

Then the game-winning touchdown was a fumble forced by Highsmith, in which T.J. Watt picked up and scored from 16 yards out. Watt became the Steelers’ all-time sack leader with one sack on Monday night to pass James Harrison with 81.5 in his career.

Watson was just 22-of-40 passing for 235 yards and a touchdown.

There was the excuse of that rust year for Watson that was fine to use for the six games he played in. But with a full offseason, training camp, and preseason — that excuse is far out of the window. At this point, the player that Cleveland traded for and gave a fully guaranteed deal is not the 2020 version of himself they hoped to have gotten.

Watson is having issues holding onto the ball and taking sacks. Sure, left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is playing poorly, and right guard Wyatt Teller was beaten inside a bunch unlike his usual self against the Steelers, but Watson owns a few of the six sacks that he took simply because he hangs onto the ball far too long. As a veteran quarterback, it’s not something Watson should be having issues with at this point in his career.

Besides that issue, Watson throwing the ball is a roller coaster. At times, Watson makes some big-time throws that make you think he’s finally back. At other times, he sails passes and fails to hit open wideouts. It looks like Watson is having trouble reading defenses, as a result.

Cleveland traded three first-round picks, plus some change to squire Watson from the Texans two offseasons ago. He served his 11-game suspension and the Browns hoped they were getting their franchise quarterback, that has not happened to this point. With eight games in, nearly half of a season worth, there has to be some head-scratching within the team that makes you wonder if they made the right choice.

It isn’t just the draft capital Cleveland gave up, they gave Watson a record-breaking contract worth nearly $250 million guaranteed that not even Patrick Mahomes has received. So far, it looks like a silt move for Cleveland that could hold them hostage for years to come if things don’t change. There is still plenty of time for him to turn things around, but Watson has not shown you anything that makes you think he will. 

Instant Reaction: Browns, Watson fail in a loss at Pittsburgh

Not the result the Browns started in Week 2.

Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.