KANSAS CITY, Mo.: Quarterback Johnny Manziel struggled mightily as a passer and dominated as a runner in the Browns’ 17-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The mixed performance evoked mixed reactions after the game.
Manziel was despondent because he was frustrated about his poor throwing. He completed 13-of-32 passes (40.6 percent) for 136 yards with an interception and a rating of 40.6.
“I don’t think I was good enough in crunch time today,” said Manziel, who went 8-of-21 passing in the second half, including 5-of-18 in the fourth quarter. “I thought I was extremely sub-par and cost us some points.
“So I’m pretty sour about it right now from a personal standpoint because I think the guys around me played good enough for us to win the game today. And I didn’t do enough for them.”
But Manziel’s teammates and opponents raved about his ability to carry the Browns (3-12) with his legs. He rushed 11 times for 108 yards, a franchise record for a quarterback, to lead a run-driven rally and threaten the Chiefs (10-5) in the waning moments.
“I think we have a starting quarterback for next year,” Browns strong safety Donte Whitner said. “Anyone who’s seen the things he’s done the last couple of weeks can see we have a starting quarterback, and he’s only going to get better with a little more time, a little more work. We’re excited about it. He’s making plays with his legs. That’s a defense’s worst nightmare because he can break the pocket and make you miss and get his yards with his legs and throw the ball downfield.”
The Browns came back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to give themselves a chance to stun the Chiefs, who extended their winning streak to nine games and clinched a postseason berth.
Time runs out
Manziel and Co. started the game’s final possession at their 30 with 1:52 remaining and no timeouts left. They advanced to the Chiefs’ 32, where they faced fourth-and-10 with 15 seconds left. Manziel completed a 14-yard pass to undrafted rookie wide receiver Darius Jennings. Then the offense scrambled to the line after the completion but couldn’t get a snap off before time expired on first-and-10 from the 18.
“We were going into it with the mindset of catch, get down and try to clock it,” said Manziel, who dropped to 2-6 as an NFL starter, including 2-4 this season. “With 15 seconds left, we felt like that was ample time.
“The refs aren’t going to hurry [to spot the ball] because we need them to hurry. Only thing that probably could’ve happened is Darius throw the ball back into the middle of the field [to give the officials a chance to spot the ball sooner], but still, we’re not going to be able to spot it ourselves.
“There’s going to have to be a ref that comes out of somewhere and spots it. So it would’ve been close anyway that if we spike it, we spike it with a second, we spike it with two seconds and have one play left or you never know. But obviously [it was] frustrating.”
The Browns shut out the Chiefs in the second half and had them on the ropes.
“You feel like you just ran out of time,” said Browns coach Mike Pettine, who faces an uncertain future with the franchise beyond next weekend along with General Manager Ray Farmer.
Up next: Steelers
The Browns will finish their season Sunday at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6). Pettine’s men have a shot to play spoilers because the Steelers can earn a wild-card playoff spot if they win and the New York Jets lose to the Buffalo Bills.
First, they’ll need to get over the heartbreak suffered in Kansas City.
“It [stinks] not to win, especially when our coach and the other 10 guys put us in position to try to get in the end zone there at the end,” said Manziel, who went 3-of-9 passing on the final drive. “I just felt like I didn’t do the right thing in crunch time. I think that’s the moral of the entire story of the game.”
However, missed opportunities before the frenetic finish haunted the Browns, who have lost 17 of their past 20 games.
The Chiefs entered the game having outscored their previous five opponents 50-0 in the fourth quarter. But the Browns snapped the shutout streak when backup safety Jordan Poyer bolted for 10 yards on a fake punt and Manziel rushed for three first downs during a 21-play, 62-yard drive capped by Travis Coons making a 36-yard field goal, which trimmed their deficit to 17-13 with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Two plays earlier, Manziel was penalized for intentional grounding because he threw the ball to right tackle Mitchell Schwartz under pressure on second-and-goal at the 8. Then he threw behind tight end Gary Barnidge and incomplete on third-and-goal, so the Browns settled for Coons’ field goal on a drive that lasted 12 minutes, 1 second.
“[On second down], I saw somebody flash and made a mistake [by throwing to Schwartz],” said Manziel, who played through a cold and sounded like it during his postgame news conference. “So I had plenty of time and was out of the pocket to throw that ball away. That was the play that really sticks out where we gave up points. That’s our touchdown drive that we needed right there. So I’m pretty upset.”
Manziel blames self
During the Browns’ next possession, they faced fourth-and-8 at the Chiefs’ 30 when Manziel threw a deep pass that fell incomplete in the end zone with no receivers nearby. Manziel admitted he thought wide receiver Travis Benjamin would run a go route when he had actually been assigned to run a post. Manziel also passed up a chance to connect with Barnidge.
“That was just my fault,” Manziel said. “I thought Trav had a go ball, and Trav had a post. I wanted to give him a chance. Really, Gary was the matchup one-on-one and probably would’ve kept the sticks moving. … That’s on me.”
Manziel also lamented plays from the first half, when Coons’ 45-yard field goal with 8:58 left in the second quarter accounted for the team’s only points.
Manziel, 23, thought Barnidge would have scored during the offense’s second play from scrimmage if he had put more touch on the ball instead of overthrowing him near the Browns’ 32. He also regretted throwing behind Barnidge on second-and-9 at the Chiefs’ 40, allowing rookie cornerback Marcus Peters to grab his eighth interception of the season with 5:35 left before halftime. The Chiefs didn’t score off the Browns’ lone turnover, but Manziel’s interception wasted an opportunity to capitalize on rookie outside linebacker Nate Orchard’s interception of quarterback Alex Smith and 46-yard return to Kansas City’s 41 two plays earlier.
“I just missed too many throws,” Manziel said. “I didn’t feel like I put it exactly where I wanted today. Luckily, we were in it because of the run game because I didn’t do enough job in the pass game.”
What he did in the running game, though, left an impression.
“He’s scary to play against,” Chiefs outside linebacker Dee Ford said, adding he’s convinced Manziel can become successful in the NFL. “He’s able to extend plays and any quarterback who can do that to a defense kind of frustrates any pass rusher and frustrates any secondary.”
Respect from coach
Pettine credited Manziel for another respectable performance in another hostile environment against the eighth-ranked defense a week after he had a solid outing in a 30-13 loss on the road to the Seattle Seahawks.
“There’s a couple throws he’d want to have back, some reads that he missed,” Pettine said. “Obviously, I have to look at the tape, but you can see the competitiveness, the fire in the kid, wanting to get it done. Overall, I think he took a step forward.”
Manziel wasn’t so sure.
“Today wasn’t good enough,” he said. “They may be hostile environments, but we’re still 0-2 [in the past two games]. As disappointing as this is, we’ll learn from it. I’ve got to be better in crunch time next time.”
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.