2nd half struggles costs Browns in 31-10 loss to undefeated Bengals

“But this is a group of men competitive and passionate about football”.

“Sometimes it can get overwhelming and you put a lot of pressure on yourself and nearly forget to enjoy it”, he said.

“He was inconsistent, I thought he did a few good things”, Pettine said.

With the victory, Cincinnati improved to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. After Browns QB Johnny Manziel airmailed a pass, a pair of Bengals defenders – linebacker Vontaze Burfict and safety Reggie Nelson – couldn’t slow themselves down in time and hopped up onto the platform where a cameraman was set up.

MANZIEL’S DAY: Johnny Football got a rematch against the team that taunted and then tormented him in his NFL debut last December, a 30-0 Bengals win.

For a half, this was nothing like that debacle. Manziel plays at his best outside of structure, but he’s also starting to grow as a reader of defenses and as a running quarterback who now runs to throw. It was to be expected from a team that many in the league believe has the most talented overall roster in the NFL, and outside of the Patriots, it’s hard to point to a team in the AFC with more juice going into the second half of the season. After adjusting to the rollouts from Manziel, the defense sacked him three times to put an exclamation point on the prime time blowout. And the Bengals dropped into deep zone coverage. Browns punter Andy Lee kicked the ball away from the Bengals’ Adam Jones, to avoid any chance of the unsafe punt return threat having a chance. Perhaps foolishly, I’m not ready to write him off just yet. Before the final Browns offensive possession, the offense had just a total of seven yards in the half and no first downs. The only positive was he didn’t cough up the ball on fumbles or interceptions. “I didn’t see nobody else and I just followed him in, and we trotted in together”. “It was the tale of the halves”. Only Starks once again committed a penalty, lining up in the neutral zone and gifting the Bengals half the distance to the goal line.

It was a night for the Bengals to show how far they’ve come in a year. “Things looked open a couple of times”. But I could’ve gotten it down to a tight end or a running back. Just get something established.

“I think it’s easy for me because I’m a guy who never lost sight of the fact that it is a business”.

It was a competitive first half, though the Browns took a bit to get going. The difference is Manziel was a first round draft pick made by the Browns a year ago, while McCown is a journeyman on his 13th season.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (12) celebrates after scoring a touchdown with center Russell Bodine (61) and quarterback Andy Dalton (14) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, November 5, 2015, in Cincinnati. The team is lead by Brian Hoyer, the former Cleveland Brown quarterback that led Cleveland’s Week 10 massacre of Cincinnati last season.

Manziel completed 11-of-18 passes for 128 yards and a vintage scramble-and-throw touchdown pass to Duke Johnson in the first half.

Asked if he were surprised by the difference in effort given the Browns desperate circumstance, the seventh-year pro didn’t soften his position. Originally, the officials gave the Browns a generous spot and signaled first down, but Bengals coach Marvin Lewis challenged the spot and replay changed it.

Cleveland’s inopportune errors continued, none bigger than in the second quarter when the Bengals chose to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the 6-yard line. The Browns still don’t know that about Manziel. The game could have been tied at 10 at halftime instead of the Browns trailing 14-10.

For the second week in a row the Bengals had a kick blocked. Running back Isaiah Crowell led the Browns with 38 yards on 10 carries.