Elijah Moore's dad calls out Deshaun Watson, Browns for lack of targets to WR vs Raiders - "Make it make sense"
The Cleveland Browns were not supposed to start the 2024 season as they did: three losses in four games, with Deshaun Watson looking nothing like the world-beater that he was supposed to be in his return to the field.
And now that negativity has extended to his teammates, with Sean Moore, the father of wide receiver Elijah Moore, attacking the quarterback for the lack of targets to his son, who had just a single 11-yard catch in Sunday's 20-16 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders despite being ostensibly the team's WR2.
"1 target the entire game? Make it make sense 95% open all the time. SMH," Sean Moore tweeted.
This is not the first time a Browns quarterback has been called out by a wide receiver's father.
In 2021, Odell Beckham Sr. blamed his namesake son's poor performance on then-quarterback Baker Mayfield, posting the following "lowlights" video.
Six days after the video came out, th Browns released OBJ, who eventually joined the Los Angeles Rams and played a key part in their Super Bowl run.
Key contributors as Browns lose third game of 2024 season vs Raiders
If Elijah Moore was not the Browns’ top receiver in that game, then who was?
The team was led by Jerry Jeudy, who had 72 yards from six receptions. Amari Cooper, meanwhile, struggled with only 35 from four. They constituted the top targets for Deshaun Watson, who ultimately completed 24 of 32 attempts (75%) for 176 yards and a touchdown to Blake Whiteheart and an interception to Trevon Moehrig and also rushed eight times for 32 yards. On the ground, Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman combined for 60 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Ronne Hickman had six solo tackles, with the former adding three assists. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett had two sacks.
For the Raiders, Gardner Minshew was subpar as a passer, completing only 14 of 24 attempts for 130 yards and no touchdowns. However, he empowered the running game, which saw Alexander Mattison and Zamir White combine for 110 yards on 22 carries and even contributed the team’s two touchdowns - courtesy of wide receivers DJ Turner and Tre Tucker, who also combined for 90 receiving yards on ten catches in Davante Adams’ absence.
Defensively, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Charles Snowden each had a sack, with the latter’s being the game-winner on 4th-and-3 with 41 seconds left in the game. Janarius Robinson and Christian Wilkins split another.
Like Adams, star defensive end Maxx Crosby did not play because of injury.
Next for the Browns is a visit to the streaking Washington Commanders, while the Raiders visit the Denver Broncos.