Yet they held Cleveland to just 15 yards rushing on 14 carries, sacked Manziel a season-high six times for 45 yards in losses and forced three turnovers. Manziel has a passer rating of 88.4 and QBR of 54.2. Head coach Mike Pettine went round and round on who would be the starting quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but ultimately Manziel got the nod and while the Brown lost, he had good numbers as the quarterback.
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Manziel has had his share of off-field issues, including an incident last month with his girlfriend, but Pettine has seen growth from Manziel, at least on the field and around the Browns’ facility.
Save for a fumble on Cleveland’s first play when the ball seemed to slip out of his hands and a late pick that came after a few curious play selection, Manziel was solid.
“I’m sure he was (limited physically), but obviously not enough to minimize his effectiveness”. “He showed significant progress”.
Manziel didn’t miss a play and later almost scored a touchdown in the third quarter when he flashed the ability to ad-lib that served him so well during his electric career at Texas A&M, slipping out of the grasp of a Pittsburgh defender and snaking his way to the goal line. “I think that is why he was so effective”. “You want that room to do well because you know it can help our team”, McCown said. Yesterday, I thought he captured that and had a great balance of those things. “Because if you panic and just say we have to change everything – and the players sense that, too. Those guys are looking to take our heads off and it’s the same thing towards us”.
The Cleveland Browns are mad, and for a lot of reasons.
The performance put the Steelers into the top of the AFC wild card race heading into their week off. Heady territory for a team missing running back Le’Veon Bell and center Maurkice Pouncey, both out for the season with injuries. With two weeks to go before the Browns play again, Pettine is in no hurry to reach a conclusion.
It is tough to take away many positives when your team loses 30-9 to a division rivals, as the Cleveland Browns did on Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the help of Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant beating their coverage and getting open it allowed Ben to stay in the pocket and deliver throws that did not require much precission. One week after Derek Carr threw for 301 yards, another member of the 2014 quarterback class threw for 372 yards against the Steelers defense.
Though I don’t have a pulse on the Browns, the decision is a wise one. They play the next two Sundays in Seattle and Kansas City and close the season at home on January 3 against the Steelers. Pettine is not committing to Manziel as starter, but it is being discussed.
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Jones’ left ankle was injured when right tackle Marcus Gilbert inadvertently stepped on him while pass blocking from the Cleveland 6 on a third-down pass that was incomplete. It didn’t faze Manziel, though, as he scampered out of the pocket and completed a 61-yard pass to Travis Benjamin on the next possession.
