Manziel, who started the season as the back up to Josh McCown, but found his way into the lineup via injuries and strong efforts both in practice and during games, suddenly looked to be entrenched as “the guy” for Cleveland.
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But, what does 10-2 mean? “It’s a new mentality for us. We got the win and that’s all that matters”.
“We had to just come out and play our game, ” Dalton said after getting his 50th career win as a starter.
Cincinnati’s top-rated defense had little trouble shutting down the Browns, who lost two wide receivers to injuries during the game and don’t have the kind of playmakers who have transformed the Bengals from doormats into one of the NFL’s best teams. One thing is for certain, this is long overdue. “That’s where we are with it”, he said.
The Heisman Trophy victor and first-round pick has been more effective this season (5 TD passes, 2 INTs), however his 59.4 percent completion percentage is nothing to rave about. He’s completed 76-of-128 passes for 933 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He went 14 for 19 passing for 220 yards.
A season that couldn’t get much worse fell to another low.
Manziel was the backup to Austin Davis during Sunday’s 37-3 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cleveland’s having another disastrous season, and coach Mike Pettine’s future is in serious doubt.
Pettine said the Browns, at 2-10 with four games to play, face “as big a test of our mental toughness that we’ll face”. Frankly, there’s a lot of football left to be played. Pettine stopped to sign a few autographs and talked to some friends before climbing into the passenger seat of his pickup truck for the drive home.
“It begins with a detailed evaluation of everything, of everything we do”, Pettine said of trying to turn things around.
It starts with General Manager Ray Farmer, who has a belief that you don’t need receivers to compete. The Browns are in a tough spot, wanting to send a message to Manziel that he needs to grow up, while at the same time needing to find out exactly what they have in the Texas A&M product.
If Manziel is to start again, it would take place Sunday in Cleveland against the San Francisco 49ers.
Pettine disputes the inference some players are holding back to make sure they’re healthy when they hit free agency. It is Cleveland’s most lopsided loss since December 24, 2005, when the Pittsburgh Pirates shut them out 41-0.
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But fans say the team must stay focused moving forward. There’s not a chance that any minute of yesterday’s debacle was spent with Pettine thinking “maybe I should put Johnny in”. Everything seems to be running smoothly for the Bengals as this may finally be the season they are able to actually compete come January.
