Cleveland Browns vs. Seattle Seahawks

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel talks to Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman after the game.

(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Mike Pettine might not have Russell Wilson in his top four, but Johnny Manziel certainly does.



"In my opinion, Russell is a top tier guy,'' Manziel after the Browns' 30-13 loss to the Seahawks. "He has 19 touchdowns and no interceptions over the past five games. Find another guy around the league that's doing that. There's not many, I know that.''

Manziel, who's been compared to Wilson because of their size and mobility, met up with his Seahawks counterpart after the game and received some words of encouragement from the two-time Super Bowl participant. Wilson (21 of 30 for 249 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 128.3 rating) became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw at least three TDs and no interceptions in five straight games.

"He said 'good job,''' said Manziel. "He said I'm getting better every time I get out there, and it's fun to watch. It was fun to watch him play as well, so it was cool to just catch up for a little bit. I wish him nothing but the best.''

Manziel, already in his second offense with the Browns in as many years, longs for the kind of stability that Wilson has under Peter Carroll and in this offense. In fact, Manziel cast his vote for the current coaching staff to stick around.

"The (Seahawks) have been doing this for awhile at a really high level,'' said Manziel. "I think this is the best that he's played probably throughout his career, so I don't know if I can really picture that moving forward. We'll see what happens. I don't think anybody really knows. I want these guys to be here next year. I want to have these receivers and the people that we have on this roster on the staff so we can go through the spring and not have to learn what this call is and this play and be able to go through a spring and have some of the continuity like you said. So it definitely would be a luxury for sure.''

Manziel started off hot, but then cooled off thanks to some drops and a horrible day by his defense, which couldn't get off the field on third down, allowing nine of 12 conversions for 75%.

On the opening drive, he completed 6-of-8 attempts for 60 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass on third down to Gary Barnidge -- against the NFL's No. 2 overall defense. Along the way, he converted four third downs and completed passes of 14, 13, 13 and 9 yards. Overall, he completed 19 of 32 attempts for 161 yards with one touchdown and one late interception for a 69.9 rating.

"You can't start out any better than seven points on the opening drive,'' he said. "We needed to sustain some of those later drives where we ended up kicking for three. Against a team like that, you can't settle for field goals very much and be successful. We can't say we didn't get down there and give ourselves a chance. We just have to execute when we get into the red zone. I think we had plenty of opportunities to make the game closer than it was."

Manziel had two of his passes dropped, one by Terrelle Pryor on the first NFL pass thrown his way, and one by Taylor Gabriel on third down at the end of the half to kill a drive. The Seahawks took over with 16 seconds left before the break and kicked a field goal as time expired after a 39-yard pass play by Jermaine Kearse and 15-yard facemask by Tramon Williams to the 9.



"If I give him a better ball, we catch that ball and we get across midfield with a chance at worst, to get a field goal. We ended up punting there and they get the three points before half, so that's a six-point swing. That play for sure (sticks out),'' he said. "There were a couple times where I could have put it in a better position for them, so it's a mutual thing. It's catching and throwing - it takes two of us, so I will try to put those balls in a little better position and I have confident they'll make those plays.''

Manziel, who dropped to 2-5, had other adversity to overcome. He was without receiver Brian Hartline, who caught eight passes from him for 107 yards last week. Gabriel returned after missing three games with his concussion. Pryor is still finding his way. Manziel also lost his starting right guard John Greco to a serious knee injury -- he left in a brace and will undergo an MRI on Monday -- and rookie Cam Erving stepped in. On the second drive, Erving gave up an 8-yard sack on the first play and the Browns went three-and-out.

But all told, he held his own, at least for awhile against one of the best defenses in the NFL and a team that has one five straight and seven of their last eight.



"It's hard to sit here right now and assess that,'' he said. "I think there were some things I missed. I will go back and look it tomorrow and the next day, put it to bed, then get ready for next week. You have to take a positive away from it. It's another start against a really good team... I got to see a variety of single-high zone coverages and how to exploit. Their pass rush really makes you keep two hands on the ball and use all of your pocket movement. There are some positives to take away, but losing is never fun."

Pettine, who drew the ire of Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett this week for his remark that Wilson wasn't a top tier quarterback, was proud of Manziel's opening drive. The moment -- inside deafening CenturyLink against one of the best teams in the NFL -- wasn't too big for him.

"It was good to see,'' said Pettine. "I thought we had a good plan, went out and executed, hit some plays."

Other Seahawks besides Wilson were complimentary of Manziel, who at one point fell over an umpire on an incompletion but shook it off.

"He's crafty,'' said Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman. "You've got to give the young kid credit. He's elusive. He was able to get out of the pocket a few times. We were able to contain him. Unfortunately we gave up that one touchdown on third down, something we could've cleaned up easily. We're happy with the way out defensive line played. You've got to give those guys credit. They played a phenomenal game.''

Said Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin: "Johnny Manziel was making us work back there, scrambling and making throws on the run. But for the most part, we did a really good job of containing him and trying to keep him from scrambling for those big plays.''

Added former Browns defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin: "Johnny's a pretty cool player. He does relax, and I think he's just going to go out there and play. Johnny's going to make plays. He's a deep threat. He's got a deep ball and he can get out of the pocket. I think Johnny was playing pretty good today, but unfortunately for him, he didn't get the win.''

Manziel's own teammates continue to be impressed.

"Johnny handled everything perfectly well,'' said receiver Marlon Moore. "Week in and week out Johnny has been improving and despite what the outside people may see, we see it in the building,'' said receiver Marlon Moore. "He's making a real good effort to be that guy, that starting quarterback. It's going to take time. I really believe Johnny will be an elite quarterback in the NFL.''

Manziel had no hard feelings against his former Aggies teammates Bennett, who said of Pettine this week, "Obviously he doesn't kow how to pick quarterbacks. He probably doesn't know what elite is.''

Said Manziel: "It's a guy who went to the same school as me, so I didn't take it as a slight towards me,'' he said. "At Texas A&M, knowing the brotherhood that it is, I didn't take it as a slight.''

Pettine maintained his sense of humor over the flap.

"Pete Carroll and I enjoyed a laugh about it at midfield,'' he said. "Pete and I shared a private, laughing moment about it."



Fortunately for Manziel, no one's laughing about his game today.



