Despite their recent skid, the Cleveland Browns are not ready to make a change at quarterback, as Brian Hoyer will remain under center for at least one more week, head coach Mike Pettine announced Wednesday. Hoyer will be the starter when the Browns challenge the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14.
Browns staying with Brian Hoyer over Johnny Manziel
The Browns will go with Brian Hoyer for at least one more week, while Johnny Manziel will continue to wait for his opportunity.
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Though Hoyer has been inconsistent this year, Pettine isn't ready to bench him in favor of rookie Johnny Manziel, who replaced Hoyer during a 26-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. Manziel relieved Hoyer after the veteran threw three picks and helped put Cleveland in a 20-3 hole in the fourth quarter. Manziel led the Browns to their only touchdown drive after he scored on a 10-yard run to cut Buffalo's lead to 10 points.
Buffalo would go on to win 26-10 after stopping Manziel and the Browns’ offense twice to end the game. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 63 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards.
Pettine: "This is a football decision. Those are always going to be based on what we think is best. Brian has led our team to a 7-5 record."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 3, 2014 Over the past three weeks, Hoyer has completed just 61 of 120 passes with one score and six picks. Cleveland went 1-2 over that span after starting the year 7-5. For the year, Hoyer is completing 56.2 percent of his passes for 3,056 yards with 11 scores and 10 picks.
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The 7-5 Browns are currently tied with five other 7-5 teams for the No. 6 seed in the AFC, so it's easy to see why they're reluctant to bench Hoyer, who has managed to keep them in playoff contention for this long. Browns players stated they have confidence in both signal callers and expressed their support of Hoyer. However, the players also said they were excited by Manziel's playmaking potential and were just as willing to rally around him in the event of a change.
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