Where the Cleveland Browns end up in Week 17 when the regular season wraps up is anybody's guess, but for now things are looking up and they have one surprising player to thank for that: veteran quarterback Josh McCown.
Josh McCown silences Johnny Manziel chants with record-setting performance
The veteran quarterback has set multiple Browns franchise records in his 14th year playing professional football.
Despite coming into the NFL all the way back in 2002 and even with extremely low expectations as the team's starting quarterback this year, McCown is playing at a historic level for the Browns in his first season with the team. Just two weeks after Browns fans chanted for backup quarterback Johnny Manziel, McCown is making headlines for his play in Cleveland.
Against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, McCown set multiple milestones, including the Browns franchise record for single-game passing yardage with 457. In the past three games, McCown has thrown for 1,154 yards, another team record. He’s also the first Browns quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards in three consecutive games.
McCown and the Browns are coming off a thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the AFC North rival Ravens, the type of game Cleveland is typically on the losing side of -- and not just because it entered the matchup with a paltry 8-24 all-time record against the Ravens. The Browns have a reputation for finding a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In Week 4, the Browns fought the San Diego Chargers for a hard four quarters, but after an offsides penalty, they lost by a field goal as time expired.
“All I know is we won the game,” McCown said on Sunday, via Cleveland.com. “That’s cool stuff and when you’re done playing, that’s cool things that you can look back on and be proud of, but for me, there’s other things that I want to be the first Browns quarterback to do and that involves stuff with our team, so that’s where my mindset will be.”
It’s hard to ignore McCown’s strong play against Baltimore in Week 5, when he completed 36 of 51 passes for 457 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. In three full games, McCown has thrown six touchdowns and one interception, though his play has only been enough to lead the Browns to a single win.
He only attempted eight passes in Week 1 due to a concussion, then gave way to Manziel in Week 2. Manziel led them to the other win, and created a brief quarterback controversy when fans started chanting for the former Heisman winner during a Week 3 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
“I get it when they chant for Johnny,” McCown said, via The MMQB. “You know why? They want to win. They want a spark. Give us a win! Make us feel good!”
McCown was signed in the offseason to be the team’s starting quarterback, and while that was met with little fanfare, he’s playing far better than anybody expected of him.
“This is my 14th year professionally, 13th year in the NFL,” McCown said. “I played in the UFL, for crying out loud.”
McCown's career has taken him to the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, the UFL's Hartford Colonials, the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now the Browns. He's shown flashes of strong play in the past, but with a career completion percentage of 59.5, 67 touchdowns and 60 interceptions, nothing like this was expected.
After Sunday's game against the Ravens, it's hard to imagine those chants will persist. Browns left tackle Joe Thomas was asked about McCown's performance against the Ravens and joked that the team should "put in Johnny."
There should be no doubts as to whom the starter is now.
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SB Nation presents: You have to see this catch by the Browns on Sunday
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