Manziel looks sharp in Browns’ loss
Johnny Manziel showed off some of his fancy footwork, and the Cleveland rookie looked sharp with his arm too in his preseason debut, although the Browns lost to the Detroit Lions, 1312, on Saturday night.
Manziel entered the game as a backup in the middle of the second quarter, and although he couldn’t take his team to the end zone, he did go seven for 11 for 63 yards, completing one more pass than starting quarterback Brian Hoyer. Manziel also ran for 27 yards in six carries, including a 16yard scramble in the third quarter.
Matthew Stafford led the Lions to a field goal on his only drive of the game. Star receiver Calvin Johnson didn’t play.
Cleveland receiver Nate Burleson, who played for Detroit the previous four seasons, also sat out the game.
Detroit’s Kellen Moore threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Corey Fuller with 1:05 remaining in the game, and Giorgio Tavecchio made the long extra point to give the Lions the one-point win. Other results
Rashad Jennings had a 73-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Curtis Painter’s scoring pass with 2:50 left gave the New York Giants a 20-16 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. . . . Jackie Battle scored on a seven-yard touchdown run with 5:02 left, and the Titans rallied to beat the Green Bay Packers, 20-16, in Ken Whisenhunt’s coaching debut in Tennessee. . . . Carson Palmer was five for five for 84 yards and a touchdown in his only series and the Arizona Cardinals spoiled Bill O’Brien’s first game as Houston’s coach with a 32-0 rout of the Texans. Etc.
Indianapolis Coach Chuck Pagano told reporters Saturday that bangedup center Khaled Holmes will miss only two to three weeks because of the sprained ankle he suffered in Thursday’s 13-10 preseason loss to the New York Jets. . . . St. Louis Rams Coach Jeff Fisher expects Sam Bradford to play in next week’s preseason game against the Packers, the quarterback’s first time facing competition since he injured his left knee in October. . . . The Cincinnati Bengals signed freeagent quarterback Tyler Wilson, two days after second-stringer Jason Campbell bruised his passing elbow. . . . The Atlanta Falcons signed linebacker Darin Drakeford and waived kicker Sergio Castillo.