Johnny Manziel made his second start of the season on Thursday night. He played a solid game, but he ultimately couldn’t overcome a poor defensive showing by Cleveland and an underwhelming group of receivers, and the Browns (2-7) lost to the undefeated Bengals 31-10.
Manziel played well in the first half, leading the Browns on a 10-play, 92-yard scoring drive that ended with a perfectly thrown pass on the run to Duke Johnson with 19 seconds left in the second half.
Unfortunately for Johnny Football and the Browns, the Bengals defense showed up after halftime and shut down the Browns in the second half. Cleveland did convert a first down in the second half until a few minutes into the fourth quarter.
In total, the second year quarterback passed 15-for-33 for 168 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions along with 31 rushing yards on four carries.
“I’m pretty upset,” Manziel said in the press conference after the game. “We had momentum coming into the second half, we just didn’t do enough.”
The Browns will resume play next Sunday, Nov. 15, in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. It will be interesting to see whether Mike Pettine gives Manziel another start, or opts to revert back to veteran journeyman Josh McCown.
