Recap of Johnny Manziel's first NFL start

Dec 14, 2014 - Cincinnati Bengals at the Cleveland Browns

Bengals got the ball first and drove the ball through the Browns defense for a TD with a powerful running game.

The Browns got mauled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Bengals rushed for 240 yards. The Browns struggled to run the ball, and Manziel had little time to pass the ball.

It may have been the worst overall team performance of the season for Cleveland, except for maybe the Browns losing in Florida to winless Jacksonville during the mid-point of the season.

Hoyer has been under a lot of defensive pressure recently, and the Browns running game has struggled at times too.

I thought that Manziel would use his mobility to buy more time on passing plays and to scramble for a gain by running.

A couple times, Manziel showed his mobility and his ability to extend a passing play, but I was surprised at a few things.

• Manziel looked slower afoot than I expected. I was surprised at how often Manziel was run down by d-linemen.
• Some of Manziel's passes had little steam. His mechanics were off at times, and that may have caused some of his passes to lack zip and get interce