Johnny Fumble
With McCown down, Manziel manhandled
Forget Johnny Football. It was Johnny Turnover.
Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel was forced into action when the Jets concussed Browns starter Josh McCown, and then coughed the ball up three times in Gang Green’s 3110 seasonopening rout at MetLife Stadium.
The secondyear pro finished 13for24 for 182 yards, but followed a touchdown to Travis Benjamin on his second pass with an interception and two fumbles.
“That’s tough on any No. 2 quarterback that has to come in and not just play, but play roughly three quarters of work,” Browns coach Mike Pettine said. “That’s a tough spot given our practice rules and how little work that No. 2s actually get. I thought he did some good things. The throw to Travis [Benjamin] was outstanding.
“But he’s got to be more protective of the ball. We can’t turn the ball over and expect to win, so that’s something he’s got to get better control over. Overall, for him coming in cold, he did some good things, and there are some things obviously he’ll regret.’’
Manziel — who came on 45 seconds into the second quarter to boos from the MetLife crowd of 78,160 — hit Benjamin on a 54yard score, his first touchdown pass as a professional. Then he started coughing up the ball.
With the Browns trailing 1410 and getting the kickoff for the second half, Manziel promptly threw an interception to Marcus Williams and saw the Jets go ahead 2110 six plays later. The Browns were never in it after that.
“First and foremost, you can’t turn the ball over,” said Manziel, who fumbled on backtoback snaps in the fourth quarter to help fuel Gang Green’s blowout. “That one throw on the pick, that’s got to be outside. That’s got to be our ball or nobody’s. That kind of slowed our momentum a little bit.
“Obviously the second half leaves a bitter taste in our mouth. But we’ll see what happens throughout this next week. We’ll see what Josh’s status is. For me, going into this week right now, as far as I know [I have to] be ready to go, get in with those guys and get a chance to mesh with them. ”