Johnny Manziel vents over interception, smacks his head with tablet

Tomsula first complimented the Browns. They gave the 10-2 Cardinals a run for their money a couple weeks ago and won a thrilling overtime game against the 49ers last week thanks to a missed field goal. Routes weren t run right, coach Jim Tomsula said. Our lines didn t play well up front.

To give further context to the nine-sack outing against the 49ers and quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the 2015 Browns started the unseasonably warm afternoon on the lakefront with 17 sacks in the previous 12 games. Some players said they took the Browns lightly, which doesn t reflect well on the coaching staff s preparations, to say nothing of their inadequate game plans. But a crescendo of negativity awaited them at FirstEnergy Stadium, where venders outside sold T-shirts depicting Cleveland as a Factory of Sadness. “We played poorly. There’s not a man in this locker room that doesn’t own part of this, starting with me”.

Once again the 49ers tackling was simply abysmal. Why couldn’t Manziel just stay out of trouble and get the playing time he appears to have deserved?

“We’re in a position where we have to play our (butt) off every week, and today we didn’t do that, Staley added”.

“It just felt like we didn’t bother to show up and play”, said Niners left tackle Joe Staley.

“It’s a false comment”. We are going to have come in and prepare hard this week and make sure we are on our stuff on a long trip to Seattle. His job, at minimum, is to have his team ready to beat opponents it should beat. “That’s a stupid remark”.

The Browns advanced to the 49ers’ 44.

Duke Johnson set career-highs of 13 carries and 78 yards in Sunday’s win over San Francisco.

“We just did not perform”.

Johnny Football finally accepted some blame.

Manziel received support from a running game that has underachieved for the vast majority of this season. They were the first two sacks of Orchard’s career.

Manziel tried one of his improvisational plays that made him famous in college, scrambling to his left and then throwing an ill-advised pass back across the field. San Francisco’s Corey Lemonier grabbed Manziel’s face mask, though, negating the safety.

Gabbert wasn t as lucky. At least three of those sacks came from Gabbert running out of bound behind the line of scrimmage instead of throwing the ball away. Crowell finished with 145 rushing yards, the most by a Browns player in a game since Peyton Hillis logged 184 rushing yards on November 7, 2010, against the Patriots. The49ers had only 98 yards entering the fourth quarter.

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

Great piece by O’Neil, and worth reading for those of you who, like me, wonder why coaches tend to sigh deeply when answering questions from the media about blown plays and the performance of individual players.

Manziel passed for 270 yards, delivering a quality performance the Browns (3-10) desperately needed. He just needs to win one of Cleveland’s final three games or look good down that stretch. But the lowly Browns should have provided more of an opportunity for the 49ers. The young quarterback showcased his laser passes that some many raved about when he was being evaluated during the draft. The 49ers couldn’t protect him, and Gabbert went down nine times.

You ve got to watch film to process what really happened and get back to the drawing board, Gabbert said.