TAMPA, Fla. -- With rumblings about his starting job being on the line, quarterback Deshaun Watson responded with maybe his best game as a Cleveland Brown. Watson completed 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score, as the Browns upset the Buccaneers 23-19 on the road.

The victory marked Watson's first win as a starter since Week 2 of the 2024 season. Prior to Sunday's win, Watson had lost six straight starts, the longest active streak by a quarterback in the league. After a poor performance in a Week 1 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars -- Watson's first regular season start since an Achilles injury that sidelined him for all of the 2025 season -- Watson and Browns coach Todd Monken were peppered with questions about the veteran quarterback's job security.

Watson, though, brought the Browns back from a 16-6 second-half deficit with a performance that will likely keep him in the starting spot ahead of the Browns' home opener against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. When asked if Watson will start next Sunday, Monken said: "I'm going to enjoy this win. And I thought he played his a-- off. I'm so happy for him."

Every week I'm getting more confident and more comfortable with myself," Watson said. "I feel good. I'm healthy. I trust the work that I've put in the last two years and [if] you got to put the ball in my hands, I'm ready for it."