Johnny Football is back ... sooner than expected.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback was pressed into action after starter Josh McCown suffered a concussion in the first quarter of a 31-10 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Manziel's relief outing started well. On his first possession, he unfurled a pretty rainbow deep ball to Travis Benjamin for a 56-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown pass of Manziel's NFL career. Manziel also had some nice scrambles, though, two were called back due to penalties.
But Manziel's appearance will be remembered for a troubling lack of ball security. He fumbled twice (losing both) and threw an interception. The Jets turned five Cleveland turnovers into 21 points.
The Browns were shutout in the second half and allowed 24 unanswered points from the end of the second quarter on. Manziel wasn't the main culprit, but he was unable to give the team the spark it needed. He finished 13 of 24 for 182 yards with one touchdown, an interception and two fumbles.
Manziel missed practice time and preseason games due to a sore elbow, but was deemed healthy enough to back up McCown on Sunday. Manziel provided a lukewarm review of his health after the game.
"The majority of the time it felt good," he said. "Few times felt tightness."
The Browns looked terrible in Week 1 and could be a very bad team. You have to wonder what that will mean at the quarterback position. Manziel has been a bitter disappointment in his early tenure in the NFL, but he is young and a first-round pick. McCown is simply a placeholder, and a banged-up one at that.
If Manziel thrived on Sunday, he'd stand a good chance of starting in Week 2. A rocky performance against the Jets likely means McCown will continue as starter -- if he's healthy enough to do so.
