Yesterday’s matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers featured plenty of surprises to say the least.
To start, the Browns won in convincing fashion, which is a stunner in itself. However, they did so thanks to a pushover defense finally stepping up while a toothless running game at long last got going. For Cleveland fans who’ve sat through this incredibly disappointing season, there were numerous sights for sore eyes.
One of these was the impressive play of quarterback Johnny Manziel. Returning to the field after his latest off-field punishment ended, Manziel gave life to an offense which had looked out of sorts for most of the season. He stayed in the pocked when he could, and extended plays only out of necessity. For a player seemingly on thin ice with the Browns, it was an incredibly important performance.
That said, the talk of Manziel potentially being Cleveland’s future at QB still needs to be drastically tempered. There was a lot to like about how he played yesterday, but there is still a lot left to learn about whether or not he could be labeled as a franchise quarterback.
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