After a rough start to his career in the Canadian Football League, former Texas A&M Aggies and Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel finally found some success with the Montreal Alouettes.

The 2012 Heisman winner threw for his first touchdown pass since 2015 Sunday, finding a wide-open receiver downfield to complete a 47-yard pass off of a flea flicker.

Manziel connected on nine of 16 attempts with no interceptions to notch 138 passing yards on the day, and he hopes his strong performance will help him make a case to lead the franchise into the future.



Nearly three years since his last touchdown, Johnny "Football" Manziel finally found his way back to the end zone in dazzling fashion.

After a rough start to his career in the Canadian Football League, the wayward former quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies and Cleveland Browns finally found some success with his new team up north. With 13:40 remaining in the second quarter of the Montreal Alouettes' Week 16 contest against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Manziel handed the ball to a running back who passed the ball over to another player laterally. He then flipped the ball back to Manziel, who found a wide-open Adarius Bowman downfield to complete the 47-yard pass.

The former Heisman winner was exuberant after scoring his first career CFL touchdown. He sprinted down the field with his hands in the air before hugging his teammates and flashing his famous "money" celebration.

Check out the play and the celebration below:

Manziel completed nine of 16 passes for 138 yards, 45 rushing yards, and no interceptions on the day. He threw for a second touchdown in the fourth quarter to narrow the Roughriders' lead to two, but the Alouettes' late comeback bid wasn't enough to take down the second-place team in the West Division.

"If we would have come out here and gotten a win, and there were zero touchdown passes on the board, I would be sitting here happier than I am right now," Manziel said postgame. "But I got the monkey off my back."

Montreal dropped to a league-worst 3-11 on the season, but Manziel showed some promise after spending a month sidelined with a concussion. The Tyler, Texas native struggled to break through in his first few showings in the CFL, notching just 45 completions on 71 attempts for 484 passing yards through three games. Manziel had also thrown five interceptions in those first three appearances, including a 4-pick performance in his CFL debut.

The Alouettes return to action against the Calgary Stampeders Oct. 8, and their 25-year-old quarterback will look to use the second-to-last home game of the season to bolster his CFL resume further and make his case to lead the franchise into the future.

"I’m going to play with pride the rest of the way throughout the rest of the season," Manziel told Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. "I enjoy being here. I enjoy being with the guys that are on this team... I have nothing but high hopes for these last four games of this season regardless of who we play or what it is."