Browns 23, Buccaneers 19: Watson After the Lightning

September 20, 2026 - Tampa - Lightning stopped the game for two hours and 12 minutes. When it came back, the rain came with it. Baker Mayfield had second-and-4 at the Cleveland 28. He never scored from there.

The Cleveland Browns beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-19 at Raymond James Stadium. Cleveland is 1-1. Tampa Bay is 0-2. Deshaun Watson threw two touchdowns, including the 17-yarder to Blake Whiteheart with 3:51 left. Todd Monken would not name him the starter for next week. He still sounded like a coach who had seen enough.

Field goals until Egbuka sat down with a catch

Chase McLaughlin opened from 59. 3-0. Andre Szmyt answered from 50. 3-3. McLaughlin made 45. 6-3. Szmyt made 34. 6-6. McLaughlin made 31 before the half. 9-6 Tampa Bay. Five field goals, zero touchdowns, a home opener that felt like a storm waiting to happen.

Mayfield fixed that to start the third. He stiff-armed a first down on third-and-9, ESPN wrote, then escaped a sack and hit Emeka Egbuka from 5. Egbuka had slipped and caught it sitting down. 16-6. That was Tampa Bay's only touchdown.

Szmyt made another 34. 16-9. Then Watson threw a slant to Denzel Boston. Boston broke three tackles and ran 55 yards. 16-16. The Browns had not scored a touchdown on their first eight possessions, the club wrote. They scored two on their last four.

Whiteheart from 17, then a delay, then fourth-and-10

McLaughlin made 31 after Tez Johnson's 49-yard post, Tampa Bay said. 19-16. Watson converted four third downs on the next series, including a busted look to Harold Fannin Jr. for 6 on third-and-1 from the 31. Three plays later Whiteheart was alone in the flat. 23-19 with 3:51 left.

The Buccaneers drove. Second-and-4 at the Cleveland 28 at the two-minute warning. Then the delay. The game resumed at 6:10 p.m., the Bucs wrote. Bucky Irving ran twice. Mayfield hit Ted Hurst to the 13. Holding pushed them back. Fourth-and-10 from the 20. The fade to Egbuka in the end zone was long. Cleveland had the win.

Watson was 24 of 30 for 238 yards, two scores, no picks, and two sacks. Boston caught five for 95 and the 55-yarder. Fannin had five for 54. Quinshon Judkins ran 12 times for 21, Tampa Bay's recap said. Irving ran 17 times for 89 and caught four for 1. Mayfield was 21 of 34 for 182, one touchdown, and one interception in the nflverse weekly line. The Buccaneers recap listed him 21 of 24. We are using 21 of 34 with ESPN and nflverse. The NFL gamebook has McLaughlin from 59, 45, 31, and 31, Szmyt from 50, 34, and 34, Egbuka from 5, Boston from 55, Whiteheart from 17. Cleveland's red zone was 1 of 3. Tampa Bay's was 1 of 4. Both clubs kicked more than they finished.

McLaughlin was 4 of 4 from 59, 45, 31, and 31. Szmyt was 3 of 3 from 50, 34, and 34. Cleveland allowed one touchdown, one interception, and three sacks, the Browns said. Mason Graham had one of those sacks. Myles Harden had the interception.

A first win that did not settle the quarterback card

Monken praised 22 months of work and left the next start in his own hands. Watson said he was happy they got the win. Mayfield had willed Tampa Bay to the only touchdown of the third quarter and still walked off 0-2. David Walker and A'Shawn Robinson sacked Watson, the Bucs wrote. Cleveland had 44 rushing yards and 238 passing. Tampa Bay had 137 on the ground and still lost inside the 20 after the delay. That is the Bucs' 0-2 start in one series: lightning, rain, a hold, and a fade that never came down.

Cleveland visits, then hosts Carolina the next week. Tampa Bay had already lost at Cincinnati. Two home points left on the board after a delay is a long night in September. Whiteheart's 17-yarder is the play that will live on the tape. Boston's 55-yarder is the one that made it possible.

Myles Garrett did not own this box. Carson Schwesinger did enough on the linebacker sheet. The Browns rushed for 44 yards as a team. They still left with 23 points because Watson stopped missing.

AthX Engine on a kicker-heavy, delay-split night

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 2 line in. Harden's interception lands at 49.50, the top total in this game. Robinson is 37.00. Watson is 36.54. McLaughlin is 36.00. Graham is 36.00. Josiah Trotter is 35.00. Boston is 32.25. Schwesinger is 30.50. Cleveland's team line is 61.75. Tampa Bay is 9.75.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Watson after a clean 24-of-30 win, and for Mayfield after another 0-2 start. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Mayfield, Irving, Garrett, Judkins, and both clubs on the marketplace. Cleveland hosted Carolina on Sept. 27. Tampa Bay hosted Minnesota that afternoon.

*Sources: ESPN recap, Browns.com, Buccaneers.com, CBS/AP. Club wraps, AP, and nflverse agree on 23-19, Watson 24-of-30 for 238 and two scores, Irving 17 for 89. Buccaneers.com listed Mayfield 21 of 24; ESPN and nflverse have 21 of 34. AthX Engine Week 2 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*