Manziel Benched

If there were ever a time for a Johnny Manziel moment, it was Monday night.

The Cleveland Browns battled the Baltimore Ravens in a train wreck of a game that may have cost them starting quarterback Josh McCown for the rest of this benighted season. When McCown went out in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury that might be a cracked collarbone, the stage was set for Manziel, the wild and erratic No. 1 pick in 2014.

Instead, the Browns sent forth Austin Davis. Yes, that Austin Davis. The one who went undrafted out of Southern Mississippi, who was cut twice by the St. Louis Rams and once by the Miami Dolphins. Manziel, who had promised the Browns a worry-free bye week and then showed up in a viral video partying and waving a champagne bottle, had been demoted and coach Mike Pettine made that stick.

Davis played well. He threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin with 1:07 left to forge a 27-27 tie and he drove the Browns into position for the winning field goal. This is what Manziel was drafted to do – to lead comebacks, create excitement, engineer victories.

We are talking about the Browns here, though, a franchise so clouded by dysfunction its fans refer to the stadium as the Factory of Sadness.

The try for the winning field goal was blocked. It was returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Will Hill with no time left. The game ended with Ravens quarterback Matt Schaub taking a knee on the conversion attempt. Anyone who has ever seen that before should contact me, as this kneel-down on what is in the books as a two-point conversion try, would be rarer than a portrait-quality photo of a Yeti.

The Browns dropped to 2-9, losing for the sixth straight time. Their future stars languish – wide receiver Josh Gordon under suspension, Manziel on the bench.

Pettine will have a decision to make about a quarterback for the next game, if not the rest of the season. He can do no right. These are the Browns.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .