Brian Hoyer attempted 14 passes and took the game halfway through the second quarter before he gave way to rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel. The Cleveland Browns made good on their promise to give Hoyer a long look before letting Manziel step in.
Johnny Manziel has inconsistent NFL preseason debut
Johnny Manziel didn’t light things up, but he didn’t embarrass himself in his NFL debut on Saturday.
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Manziel played a decent game, completing seven of 11 passes for 63 yards, with six carries for 27 yards. He threw a pass on his first play, six yards to Anthony Armstrong. It was a simple route and Armstrong was clearly his top option on the play. Cleveland ran the ball on second down, but didn't pick up the first. Then Manziel tried a keeper on third down but was unsuccessful in gaining enough yards, and his first NFL drive ended in a 3-and-out.
If reading about his first NFL pass wasn’t enough, we’ve got video below:
The Browns received the second half kickoff and, of course, Manziel was still in action. He ran for a couple yards (his “slide” is not pretty), threw for a couple more yards and then ... ran for a couple yards. The Browns ended up kicking a field goal on that drive, but keep in mind the Browns started that drive near midfield. Manziel also took a big hit to end that drive, which you can see here.
That hit left him limping, but he did return to the game on the next possession. Manziel managed a 16-yard run and another completion, but the drive unfortunately ended in a fumble. He played another series and completed a couple more passes, doing nothing crazy but making few mistakes.
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Hoyer completed six of his 14 pass attempts for 92 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He didn’t do anything to cement himself as the starter, nor did he stumble enough to lose ground in the battle against Manziel.
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