BEREA: Quarterback Johnny Manziel signed a fan’s $100 bill last weekend during pregame warm-ups at FirstEnergy Stadium, then delivered a money performance to help the Browns snap a seven-game losing streak with a victory against the San Francisco 49ers.
But Manziel will soon encounter the greatest challenge of his young NFL career because the Seattle Seahawks are known for bankrupting offenses.
“We’re not going to downplay that it’s obviously a very good defense,” Manziel said.
The Browns (3-10) will face the Seahawks (8-5) at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at CenturyLink Field.
They’re huge underdogs, and they know it.
“We’re not holding anything back,” Manziel said. “At this point in the season, we’re looking to play spoiler. We don’t have a whole lot to play for, other than pride, but we want to go out and continue to try and finish what we started. We’re really the people that are going in here and don’t really have anything to lose, so we’re going to play that way.
“I think we have a good game plan. I’ve trusted these coaches have schemed up something to try and move the ball down the field, and I’m confident in the plan and the guys we have out there. So it’s going to be loud, it’s going to be hostile and they’re going to be good, and those are the facts of what this game is going to be. And if we come out and don’t turn the ball over, then I think we’ll be all right.”
The Seahawks’ defense is tied for second in the NFL with 307.8 yards allowed per game. The unit is ranked second against the run (83.2 yards surrendered per game) and sixth against the pass (224.6 yards yielded per game). It’s third in points allowed (18.1 per game), 17th in takeaways (18, 10 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries) and tied for 15th in sacks (32).
The defense played a huge role in the Seahawks’ advancing to the past two Super Bowls and winning one to end the 2013 season. It’s also a reason they’ve won their past four games and are in the playoff hunt.
“I don’t think this defense makes anything easy on you,” Manziel said. “They make you work for every yard that you get.”
Manziel is coming off one of his better performances. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown with an interception for a rating of 92.1 in a 24-10 win over the 49ers.
Coach Mike Pettine believes Manziel has momentum on his side.
“It can do nothing but bolster the confidence. That is big,” Pettine said. “You have to be confident going into Seattle. You can’t go up there unsure, uncertain because that plays right into their hands. We are looking for more of the same this week. They are not going to give you as many looks as other teams, but what they do, they do extremely well. You have to be efficient. You have to be extremely accurate. This is a team that thrives on the quarterback making mistakes. His success this week will come from Monday through Saturday, and hopefully that will translate out on the field.”
Manziel started against the 49ers after being benched for the previous two games because he partied during a bye-week break and later lied to the Browns about it. He continued to make strides upon his return to the lineup.
Although Manziel isn’t on fire like Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who has thrown 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions in the past four games, he’s been getting hot.
The Cincinnati Bengals dominated Manziel in the second half of their 31-10 win over the Browns on Nov. 5. However, he has played well since then, completing 54-of-76 passes for 642 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for a rating of 94.3 in a 30-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 15 and Sunday against the 49ers.
“It was definitely a leap,” offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “I see the confidence in the huddle part of it. I see him coming over to the sidelines and telling me exactly what he saw and why he did certain things. He took another step of growth from that standpoint.”
Manziel has delivered the ball from the pocket better, too. He hasn’t been consistently fleeing it prematurely like he had in the past.
He also has improved under duress. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown with an interception on 12 pressured dropbacks against the 49ers, per ProFootballFocus.com.
“[The game has] slowed down for me,” Manziel said. “I’m able to make certain protection calls and make sure everybody is lined up exactly where they need to be, seeing coverages and seeing the plays progress. And I feel like my eyes are in the right place the majority of the time and that I’m going to the right place with the ball and getting it out on time.”
The 49ers, though, had the NFL’s 28th-ranked defense (395.1 yards allowed per game) entering their meeting with the Browns.
Conversely, the Seahawks are elite. Cornerback Richard Sherman, free safety Earl Thomas, strong safety Kam Chancellor and inside linebacker Bobby Wagner are reigning Pro Bowlers.
“They’re fundamentally sound,” Manziel said. “They do what they do, and they do it really well. They don’t give up a lot of big plays, and they have a guy like Thomas or Sherman or Chancellor. [With] the pressure they get up front, that’s a pretty good combination.”
Sherman might be the best corner around. He has an NFL-high 80 passes defensed since 2011.
“You have to give him a lot of props for what he does and for shutting down one third of the field,” Manziel said.
If Manziel can excel Sunday, he’d strengthen his case to lead the Browns’ offense next year.
“I think he looks really good, and he is a big threat because he is not just a run-around guy,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He can throw the ball on rhythm in the pocket, and he will hold up and hang in there when he has protection to do so.”
But life won’t be easy for Manziel in Seattle. Not only is the Seahawks’ defense ferocious, but the crowd noise can also give opposing quarterbacks nightmares.
“Playing in the SEC, we got some really hostile, good environments,” said Manziel, who won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M University. “Getting down to like third or fourth quarter versus Alabama, getting backed up, they’re starting to make a little bit of a comeback, that’s probably one of the loudest stadiums I’ve ever been in. It’ll be interesting to see how that compares. This place has a ton of hype. You hear it time and time again that people can’t even hear themselves think, so I don’t expect it to be anything other than full force.”
Manziel relishes the opportunity to shock the world. He’ll need an outing worth a lot more than an autographed $100 bill to accomplish the feat.
“You have to embrace it,” he said. “We’ve known since our schedule came out that when you look at Seattle and you have to go on the road, you know exactly what it’s going to be. They’re going to be in the playoff hunt, looking to try and win their division or grab a wild-card spot, and you’re going into their home stadium where we know what it’s like.
“Might as well embrace it because shying away from it or trying to be scared of it is not going to do you any good. It is what it is, and it’s what we have to live with, so we’ll embrace it.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.