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Deshaun Watson says he deserves blame after Browns fall to 1-3

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For the second straight week, the Cleveland Browns had multiple chances to win in the fourth quarter but fell short.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson said he took the blame after Cleveland blew an early 10-0 lead and lost 20-16 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

“For me to be the quarterback of this offense, we all have to be completely locked in,” said Watson, who finished 24 of 32 for 176 yards with a touchdown and interception. “And right now we’re not doing enough to get the ‘W.’

“So you can definitely leave it to me.”

Although Watson’s 75% completion percentage and 84.9 rating were both season highs, the Browns (1-3) were unable to take advantage of a Raiders team missing star players Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby.

The Browns led in all four games but fell to last place in the AFC North, tied with Cincinnati.

“We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Watson said. “Every ride is an opportunity for us to score points or put ourselves in a good field position for the next ride. But yeah, we just didn’t take advantage of that. We just have to find ways to maintain that fast start we have.”

Watson was under duress almost half the time he dropped back to pass. He recorded three sacks and was rushed 11 times. According to Stathead, the 11 rushes were the second most of his career.

Watson has been sacked 19 times, a career high, through the first four games of a season.

Cleveland ranked 30th in offensive drives and finished in scoring, at a rate of 24.3%, and scored on 2 of 7 drives (22.7%) on Sunday.

The Browns have struggled with injuries up front and lost starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. last week when he injured his right knee in a loss to the New York Giants.

Cleveland also missed tackle Jack Conklin, guard Wyatt Teller and tight end David Njoku, then lost center Ethan Pocic in the first quarter to an ankle injury.

Pocic returned in the third quarter but couldn’t continue, coach Kevin Stefanski said.

By then, the Raiders were dominating in the trenches. With Las Vegas leading 20-10 late in the third, Watson was sacked on first and third, and the Browns punted.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns had a chance to take the lead, but failed in the red zone. Watson made a quick snap into the shotgun position on first down on the Las Vegas 16 and was under pressure when his pass on second down was batted down. After a third-down completion against Amari Cooper put Cleveland at the 9, Watson was sacked on fourth down with 41 seconds left.

Earlier in the fourth, Watson found a streaking Amari Cooper for what would have been an 82-yard go-ahead shot if not for a holding penalty on backup center Nick Harris.

“I thought Deshaun fought,” Stefanski said. “Obviously there are some really good moments in it. That’s disappointing when you make a play and it comes back because of a penalty. Again, I haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment on that part of it. But I thought he had fought.”

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AP N.F.L.: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl