Returning to the field after his latest off-field punishment ended, Manziel gave life to an offense which had looked out of sorts for most of the season.
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Manziel was back on the field after being benched two games by Pettine for partying during Cleveland’s bye week after he had promised not to be a distraction.
Browns tight end Gary Barnidge, who caught a 2-yard TD pass from Manziel, said his teammate is understanding the necessary commitment to succeed. The epitome of a team-first player, Barnidge didn’t downplay the significance of a victory like Sunday’s against the 49ers.
How about the running game?
Notable: Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel finished 21-of-30 for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Duke Johnson had a nice day in a complementary role, running for 78 yards on 13 carries. They shut out the Bears in Week 3 and held Clausen to 23-of-40 passing for 274 yards with an interception in this one.
The team’s previous season best was seven sacks against the Titans, and the defense entered the weekend with just 17 sacks this season. Karlos Dansby leads the Browns with 89 tackles, Armonty Bryant has 5.5 sacks and Tramon Williams has nine pass deflections. They were the first two sacks of Orchard’s career. His rating was 96.4.
Meanwhile the Browns rushing game had averaged just 73.9 yards a game the first 12 games, which was 32nd in the NFL.
TOUGH BLOW: Cleveland’s receiving unit took another blow as Brian Hartline broke his collarbone in the second half and will miss the rest of this season. I am not saying he is the answer, but unless an absolute stud quarterback is available to the 49ers in round one, I would fill other needs. He has had one field goal attempt blocked in each of his last three games and each time the rush has come inside.
Two plays before Crowell scored, the Browns dodged a bullet.
“Long time coming”, the Browns head coach said less than 24 hours after the Browns closed out their 24-10 victory over the 49ers. Hartline fumbled at the 1 but recovered to preserve the drive.
Assistant coaches Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt have all been axed, with new England head rugby coach Eddie Jones completely overhauling his back-room staff.
Jim Tomsula issued a needless reminder Monday for any 49ers players who overlooked the lousy Cleveland Browns. “We’re going to plan to travel out there and play a good football game”.
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In addition to showing a level of pride in the win over the 49ers, Pettine believes the Browns will quell some of the outside noise surrounding the franchise, at least for the next seven days. Guys get upset. Nobody says anything when (Patriots quarterback) Tom Brady slams his down on the ground or anything like that, but because Johnny is always in the media with that kind of stuff, it becomes something that gets brought up. Winston fumbled the ball and lost it in his first carry with the Browns. But instead of running out of bounds or throwing the ball away, Manziel forced a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Niners safety Jaquiski Tartt, who returned it 25 yards.
