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

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

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

“If I’m gonna be the quarterback of this offense, we all got to be all the way 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 put it on me for sure.”

While Watson’s 75% completion rate and 84.9 rating were both season highs, the Browns (1-3) could not take advantage of a Raiders team that was missing star players Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby.

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

“We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Watson said. “Each and every drive is an opportunity for us to put points or get us in good field position for the next drive. But yeah, we just didn’t capitalize on those. We just got to find ways to continue to sustain that fast start that we have.”

Watson was under duress nearly half the times he dropped back to pass. He took three sacks and was hurried 11 times. Per Stathead, the 11 hurries were the second most in his career.

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

Cleveland came in ranking 30th in offensive drives ending in a score, with a 24.3% rate, and scored on 2 of 7 drives (22.7%) on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

In the fourth quarter, the Browns had a chance to pull ahead but failed in the red zone. Watson fumbled a quick snap in the shotgun position on first down at the Las Vegas 16 and was under pressure when his pass was batted down on second down. After a third-down completion to Amari Cooper got Cleveland to 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 TD if not for a holding penalty on backup center Nick Harris.

“I thought Deshaun battled,” Stefanski said. “There are obviously some really good moments on there. That’s disappointing when you make a play and it comes back due to penalty. Again, I didn’t see it, so I can’t comment on that part of it. But I thought he battled.”

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Cleveland Browns safety Rodney McLeod Jr. (12) celebrates with teammates and fans after scoring a touchdown off a fumble recovery during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski speaks after the Browns were defeated by the Las Vegas Raiders 20-16 in an NFL football game Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford, center, runs with the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson speaks after the Browns were defeated by the Las Vegas Raiders 20-16 in an NFL football game Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is hauled down for a sack by Las Vegas Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson speaks after the Browns were defeated by the Las Vegas Raiders 20-16 in an NFL football game Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records following a wild start to the week for financial markets in Asia. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in early Monday trading, coming off its sixth winning week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 153 points, or 0.4%, from its all-time high set on Friday. The Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged. A big test for Wall Street’s rally will arrive Friday, when the U.S. government offers its latest monthly update on the job market. In Asia, Japanese stocks tumbled, while Chinese indexes soared.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

HONG KONG (AP) — Global markets had a wild start to the week, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index tumbling nearly 5% while Chinese markets soared on news of fresh stimulus for the faltering economy, with Shanghai up more than 8%.

In early European trading, France’s CAC 40 slipped 1.0% to 7,711.66, and Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 19,399.02. In London, the FTSE 100 declined 0.3% to 8,294.70. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower.

Japanese shares sank after the ruling Liberal Democrats chose former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba late Friday to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is due to step down on Tuesday.

Ishiba has expressed support for the Bank of Japan's moves to raise interest rates from their near-zero level. He also backs other policies, such as possibly raising corporate taxes, that are seen as less market friendly than his chief rival for the top job, Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who he beat in a run-off vote.

The Nikkei closed 4.8% lower at 37,919.55 on Monday.

The dollar fell from over 146 Japanese yen to under 143 yen after the ruling party’s vote. By Monday, it was trading at 142.38 yen, up from 142.29.

Exporters’ shares plunged, since a stronger yen is a disadvantage for Japanese companies that make a large share of their sales and profits overseas. Also Monday, the government reported that industrial output fell 3.3% year-on-year in August, though analysts said some of that was due to safety scandals that have caused automakers to suspend production of some vehicles.

Toyota Motor Corp. dropped 7.6%. Honda Motor Co.'s shares fell 7.0% and Nissan Motor Co.'s declined 6.0%.

Ishiba has said he backs Kishida's “new capitalism” policies, which ostensibly would foster more equal distribution of national wealth. But sharply rising prices have undermined progress toward encouraging consumers to spend more.

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2.4% to 21,133.68, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index up 6.4%. The Shanghai Composite index surged 8.1% to 3,336.50. An index in the smaller market in Shenzhen jumped almost 11%.

The rallies were auspiciously timed, coming on the eve of a week-long national holiday marking 75 years of communist rule in China. Markets in mainland China will be closed Tuesday through Oct. 7.

China is moving forward with measures announced last week to support the property industry and revive languishing financial markets. The central bank announced on Sunday that it would direct banks to cut mortgage rates for existing home loans by Oct. 31. Meanwhile, the major southern city of Guangzhou lifted all home purchase restrictions over the weekend, while both Shanghai and Shenzhen revealed plans to ease key buying curbs.

The effort to wrest the housing market out of a prolonged downturn comes as the economy shows signs of slowing further. China’s manufacturing activity in September contracted for a fifth consecutive month, as the official purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.8, remaining below the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7% to 8,269.80. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.1% to 2,593.27.

On Friday, the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high to 5,738.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 42,313.00, setting its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4% to 18,119.59.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market after a report showed inflation slowed in August by a bit more than economists expected. It echoed similar numbers from earlier in the month about inflation, but Friday’s report has resonance because it’s the measure that officials at the Federal Reserve prefer to use.

In other dealings, oil prices rose as tensions in the Middle East escalated. On early Monday, Israel launched the first apparent airstrike in nearly a year of conflict on the center of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. This came after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an air attack on Saturday. Benchmark U.S. crude oil added 49 cents to $68.67 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 61 cents at $72.15 per barrel.

The euro was trading at $1.1193, up from $1.1163.

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The New York Stock Exchange, center, is shown on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People walk by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A man walks by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A woman looks at monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as she waits at an traffic intersection in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A man stands by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as he waits at a traffic intersection in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A man who called himself a trader takes a picture of monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A man looks at monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)