Johnny Flop: Manziel awful in loss to Bengals
Bengals cornerback Adam Jones makes the Johnny Manziel “money” sign after the Bengals defeated the Browns 30-0 Sunday.
Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel watches from the sidelines in the fourth quarter against the Bengals Sunday in Cleveland.
They chased him. They taunted him. They made him look scared.
The Cincinnati Bengals dismantled Johnny Manziel.
Woe, Johnny.
Manziel spent his first NFL start being tormented and taunted by Cincinnati defenders as the Bengals rudely welcomed the rookie quarterback to the league with a 30-0 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns Sunday.
Manziel didn’t come close to living up to the exhausting expectations surrounding his overhyped debut as the AFC North-leading Bengals (9-4-1) built a 20-point halftime lead and rolled to their fourth straight road win.
“Everything was all about Manziel all week,” Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga. “We just focused on us. We just focused on what we needed to do to stop the kid.”
Promoted earlier this week over the slumping Brian Hoyer to spark the Browns (7-7), Manziel finished 10 of 18 for 80 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked three times, under pressure all afternoon and had Bengals players imitating his signature “money-rubbing” gesture more than once.
“Every time we hit him, every time we got him on his back,” said defensive tackle Domata Peko. “So it was a lot of money signs thrown out today.”
Manziel took the pasting in stride.
“It was tough,” he said. “When you get beat, you get beat and you take it like a man. I felt like it was a fail on my part. “
Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, backing up his postgame trash talk of the Browns following a loss to them last month.
The Bengals overwhelmed the Browns on the field and on the stat sheet, recording their first shutout since Dec. 21, 2008 – in Cleveland.
Cincinnati had 347 yards to Cleveland’s 107. The Bengals picked up 24 first downs to five for the Browns, who went just 1 of 10 on third down.
Mike Nugent, who missed practice time this week after his father died, kicked two 44-yard field goals and added a 34-yarder for the Bengals.
Manziel didn’t look ready for the big stage, panicking in the pocket and failing to deliver any of the magic that made him a college football star.
Johnny Football has some work to do.
“Didn’t play well — looked like a rookie, played like a rookie,” Browns coach Mike Pettine said. “We didn’t play well around him, but he made some obvious mistakes that typically a veteran quarterback won’t make.”
The Bengals put together a complete game to strengthen their grip on the division lead, maintaining their half-game lead over Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who both won.
Cincinnati set the tone with a time-consuming, 81-yard touchdown drive to start the game and atoned for a 24-3 loss last month when they were dominated at home by the Browns.
Cincinnati led 20-0 at halftime, and spent the next two quarters making sure Manziel never got going.
The shutout capped a week in which Manziel was called a “midget” by Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a comment that shows professionals aren’t ready to let him come in and “wreck the league” like he boasted he would do before the Browns selected him with the No. 22 overall pick.
“We didn’t want to let him be Johnny Football versus us,” said Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap.
The Browns were blanked for the first time since a 16-0 loss to Baltimore in 2009.
Manziel’s first half couldn’t have gone much worse.
He was intercepted twice and was lucky that a third pick was nullified by a penalty. The Browns managed just 58 total yards in the opening half and their best scoring chance ended when Manziel scrambled and forced a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by Adam “Pacman” Jones.
“You can’t throw that one whether you’re in Pop Warner or a 6-year-old playing in the driveway,” Manziel said. “That’s 100 percent on me.”
Baltimore 20, Jacksonville 12: The Baltimore Ravens sacked rookie quarterback Blake Bortles eight times and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown to squeeze out a lackluster 20-12 victory over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.
Baltimore (9-5) gained only 31 yards rushing through three quarters and scored just once with its offense on the field. But the defense was solid, and special teams helped the Ravens got a victory they needed to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff chase.
Kansas City 31, Oakland 13: Alex Smith threw for 297 yards and two scores, Kansas City shut down Derek Carr and the Oakland offense and the Chiefs beat the Raiders 31-13 to end a three-game skid.
Knile Davis had touchdowns running and receiving, and De’Anthony Thomas returned a punt 81 yards for another score as the Chiefs (8-6) got even for a 24-20 loss to Oakland (2-12) last month.
N.Y. Giants 24, Washington 13: Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes to rookie Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants took advantage of an overturned touchdown at the end of the first half to defeat Washington 24-13.
Manning and Beckham combined 12 times for 143 yards, with touchdown passes covering 10, 35 and 6 yards. The win was the second straight for the Giants (5-9) after seven straight losses.
New England 41, Miami 13: The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East title for the sixth straight season as Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in a big third quarter that carried them to a 41-13 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Leading just 14-13 at halftime, the Patriots scored on four consecutive series while piling up 24 points, the most in any third period in team history.
Indianapolis 17, Texas 10: Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and the Colts won their second straight AFC South title by holding off the Houston Texans 17-10.
Indianapolis (10-4) has won four straight.
But it sure wasn’t easy. Luck was 18 of 34 with 187 yards and one interception on the same day Reggie Wayne passed Peyton Manning for the most games and wins in franchise history. Wayne has played in 209 games, winning 142.
Buffalo 21, Green Bay 13: Bacarri Rambo intercepted two Aaron Rodgers passes and Marcus Thigpen scored on a 75-yard punt return, leading the Buffalo Bills to a stunning 21-13 upset over the Green Bay Packers.
Defensive end Mario Williams also forced Rodgers to fumble, which led to running back Eddie Lacy being tackled in the end zone for a safety with 1:51 left. Dan Carpenter hit all three field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder in the second half to help keep Buffalo (8-6) in the AFC playoff picture.
Carolina 19, Tampa Bay 13: Derek Anderson threw for 277 yards and a touchdown, Graham Gano kicked four field goals and the Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17 to remain alive in the NFC South playoff race.
The win, coupled with Atlanta’s loss to Pittsburgh, leaves the Panthers a half-game behind New Orleans in the division. Carolina (5-8-1) can move into first place if the Saints lose to Chicago tonight.
Denver 22, San Diego 10: Peyton Manning played through a thigh injury and flu-like symptoms and Connor Barth kicked five field goals to lead Denver to a 22-10 victory against the San Diego Chargers that gave the Broncos their fourth straight AFC West title.
Manning came out of the game late in the second quarter. He apparently hurt his thigh while blocking linebacker Donald Butler on a run by C.J. Anderson.
N.Y. Jets 16, Tennessee 11: Chris Ivory scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:09 left, and the New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans 16-11 Sunday in a game marked by a brawl between teams playing only for pride with the loser hoping for better draft position.
The Jets (3-11) got their first road win this season in the first NFL game to end with a 16-11 score. They also snapped a three-game skid.
Seattle 17, San Francisco 7: Marshawn Lynch rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, Russell Wilson threw a touchdown pass to rookie Paul Richardson, and the Seattle Seahawks knocked archrival San Francisco from playoff contention 17-7.
The defending Super Bowl champions remained in contention for a division title and No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Detroit 16, Minnesota 14: Matt Prater’s 33-yard field goal with 3:38 remaining lifted Detroit to a 16-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, pulling the Lions into a tie for first place in the NFC North.
The Lions (10-4) are now even atop the division with Green Bay, which lost to Buffalo earlier in the day, but Detroit didn’t have an easy time, spotting the Vikings (6-8) a 14-0 lead before a pair of second-quarter interceptions helped the Lions start their rally.