Johnny Manziel Smacks Head With Surface Tablet After Interception

Despite a number of off-field incidents this season, the Browns quarterback played well in his return from his latest benching.

THE San Francisco 49ers’ slim playoff hopes were finally ended in a miserable 24-10 defeat against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday (AEDT). He tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Gary Barnidge in the third quarter as Cleveland won for the first time since October 11 and took some pressure off coach Mike Pettine.

Isiah Crowell led an unlikely ground assault for Cleveland, finishing as the game’s leading rusher with 145-yards and two touchdowns.

Manziel completed 21 of 31 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown.

The Browns could have new leadership when the time for action comes, making this situation unpredictable beyond Manziel’s own potential for volatility. Gabbert has done a good job protecting the ball over the past month, with just one interception in four games, but his safe style of play isn’t fantasy-friendly. Cleveland earned its third win of the season in a 24-10 drubbing. Someone asked him why the Browns’ rushing game (230 yards) was so successful against the 49ers.

So very bad that what Manziel and the Browns did Sunday has to be taken with a grain of salt the size of the egg the organization has laid this season.

Things will not get any easy for the Browns and Manziel when they travel to take on the Seahawks or in match-ups against the Chiefs or Steelers to close out the year but the reality is winning against good teams has to happen sooner or later. He cautioned that if the Niners allowed Manziel to scramble, keep plays alive in the pocket and make something out of nothing, the 49ers would be in trouble. One has to be happy for the select players on this team who have given their best week-in-and-week-out to get a win.

NOTES: RB Shaun Draughn started for 49ers rushing leader Carlos Hyde…. Though he did throw a questionable interception, it was his only notable mistake on the day. Six plays later, the Browns settled for Coons’ field goal. The 49ers, though, failed to gain a first down and resorted to former Browns kicker Phil Dawson’s 44-yard field goal, trimming their deficit to 10-3 with 4:12 left in the second quarter.

“I’m trying not to break down on the sideline and zero in on kicking and paying attention to the wind”, he said.

The 49ers went three-and-out with defensive end Desmond Bryant sacking quarterback Blaine Gabbert on second down. Not only did the Browns win a football game for the first time since Week 5, they did so without any need for drama.

The Browns’ Terrelle Pryor made his regular-season debut as an National Football League wide receiver and played three snaps in the first half.