Browns QB Johnny Manziel Replaces Brian Hoyer In Loss

The Cleveland Browns have been one of the most shocking teams in the NFL, and with a huge matchup on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, they struggled badly and in the process, and wound up replacing starting quarterback Brian Hoyer with this year’s most talked about rookie — Johnny Manziel.

Manziel came in and had a pretty nice drive, resulting in a rushing touchdown that brought the Browns within 1o points in the middle of the fourth quarter. However, the Bills were too much at home for the Browns, and they ended up dropping this game and their record to 7-5. The Bills improved to 7-5 in the process, thickening an already insane AFC playoff race.

The Browns, who are right in the middle of that AFC playoff race, need to basically win out or at least only lose one game the rest of this season to give themselves the best shot at making the playoffs. Might they roll with Johnny Manziel from now on? Brian Hoyer has been playing really average to below average football and Cleveland has apparently seen enough.

It would almost be a shock at this point if Manziel didn’t start for the Browns this coming weekend in a home game against the Indianapolis Colts. A win against the Colts would be a signature win for the Browns, who have a really tough stretch coming up with Indy, the Bengals, and road games in Carolina and Baltimore to close out the season.

A playoff berth with those remaining games seems improbable, but we’ve seen Johnny Manziel play some of his best football when his back was against the wall and the odds were stacked against him. With Josh Gordon in the lineup, and hopefully at some point a healthy Jordan Cameron, the rookie could have all the weapons he needs in order to succeed and lead the Browns to a playoff berth.

Many felt like Manziel would need a full season of development and that win or lose, this would be Brian Hoyer’s season to either succeed or mess up. A lot changes when the team starts winning and you get into the thick of a playoff race. What was once a do or die situation for Hoyer has now become a do or die situation for the Browns. They don’t want to mess up this opportunity, and if Brian Hoyer isn’t going to give them the best chance to win, then they have to move on.

It seems like they might be moving on sooner than many anticipated.