The Cincinnati Bengals will get to take a swipe at Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns when the two teams face each other on Week 14.
Following news of Watson’s updated 11-game suspension, Watson will be back in time to play the Bengals toward the end of the 2022 season in what promises to be a very competitive matchup.
It seems very curious that Watson’s first game back from suspension will be against his former team, the Houston Texans, but Cincinnati will indeed face the controversial quarterback during the upcoming season.
Since the showdown will be featured in Paycor Stadium, we’d expect Bengals fans to make some noise that game.
So Watson’s first game back is … in Houston
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) August 18, 2022
And his second game is … in Cincinnati https://t.co/TgLqPNjPOS
Cincinnati Bengals prepare to face Deshaun Watson’s Browns in Week 14 of 2022
When Watson steps onto the field in 2022, it’ll mark two years since he last touched a football, though his 2020 season is nothing to scoff at.
Watson recorded 4,823 passing yards and 33 touchdowns in 16 games for the Texans, his best season in the NFL by far. He joined the Browns earlier this offseason and has since been a lightning rod of controversy, especially given how much he’s wavered on apologizing for his past decisions.
Regardless, Watson’s return just gives the Bengals one more reason to thump the Browns on their way to winning the AFC North in 2022.
With Joe Burrow coming off a triumphant second year and with the young and talented core of the Bengals’ 2021 squad still very much intact, Cincinnati has all the pieces to make another Super Bowl appearance this season.
And no one, not even the cringe-inducing and despicable antics of Deshaun Watson, will get in the way.
Watson has become Public Enemy No. 1 in the league, and the Bengals will relish the opportunity to take him down in 2022.