The Cleveland Browns were able to knock off the Tennessee Titans because of a big game from second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel. Despite the big game that Manziel played and the fan support that he received, Browns head coach Mike Pettine decided to name veteran quarterback Josh McCown as his starter this week against the Oakland Raiders.
It certainly disappointed Manziel after he heard the news, but he handled heading back to the bench well and is going to have to wait until his next opportunity. Pettine made a mistake by not starting Manziel, especially with McCown being 36 years old and having no chance to be anything for the franchise moving forward past the next season or two.
Now that McCown is set to make the start in Week 3, what should the Browns and their fans be expecting from him?
During the short time that he played in Week 1 against the New York Jets, McCown completed five of his eight passes for 49 yards. He also fumbled on what would have been a rushing touchdown and it went into the end zone for a touchdown. Cleveland simply needs McCown to make some plays down the field and be a game manager against a Raiders’ defense that simply isn’t very good.
There is no question that McCown has the talent to make a few plays here and there for the Browns, but he isn’t good enough to power them to the playoffs. Oakland’s offense is going to keep them in the game, but if McCown is able to make the type of deep throws that Manziel made last week against a similar defense, the Browns should be able to pull out a win.
Cleveland has quite a bit of talent at the wide receiver position as well, including Travis Benjamin who connected very well with Manziel. If McCown wants to remain the starter for the Browns, he is going to have to get Benjamin involved on some big plays down the field.
Predicting McCown’s game this coming week is very difficult, especially since he has yet to show us what he is capable of doing with the Browns due to the injury in Week 1 early on in the game.
Expect to see him come through with a solid game this week for the Browns, but it likely won’t be anything special. The Browns should have started Manziel and allowed him to use the momentum from last week to continue making improvements, but they’ve already messed that chance up. McCown will play a very safe game without taking risks down the field like Manziel did, which could end up winning or losing the game for the Browns.
Josh McCown Week 3 Prediction: 235 Yards, 2 TD’s, 1 INT
