Puskas: Browns’ struggles not limited to Manziel

Wreck this league?

Johnny Manziel first needs to prove he belongs in this league.

The good news? Manziel will play better than he did in the Browns’ 30-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

The bad news? He couldn’t have played much worse in his first NFL start, which made noted Johnny Football basher Merril Hoge look like a genius.

That’s tough to do because Hoge is to Manziel as Mark May is to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both ESPN talking heads’ opinions are so tainted with personal animus they’re often difficult to take seriously.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers running back trolls Manziel like it’s his job. His message? Manziel is a punk whose skill set is overrated and won’t translate to the NFL

Kids, remember this: Pass out one time on an inflatable swan and you could be marked for life.

Of more immediate concern was Manziel’s performance Sunday in a game Browns fans had looked forward to all week. He was 10 of 18 for 80 yards, threw two awful interceptions and was sacked three times.

Manziel’s QB rating in his first NFL start? A microscopic 27.3.

“I need to be better,” he said. “I feel like it was a fail on my part. ... I’m not using the rookie excuse. That’s not me.”

The Browns collectively were even worse.

Here’s all you need to know: They managed five first downs — that is not a typo — and punted seven times.

Spencer Lanning, who averaged 47.9 yards per punt, is the only Browns player who should be able to sleep well tonight after reflecting on his performance.

The Browns would have lost today with Otto Graham at quarterback. Manziel was in the spotlight because of the hype surrounding his first start, but the Browns were abysmal across the board.

The offensive line didn’t block well, the running backs didn’t run well and the receivers didn’t catch the ball. Andrew Hawkins, the Browns’ leading receiver, dropped the best pass Manziel threw all day.

Browns coach Mike Pettine made it clear there was no thought of putting backup Brian Hoyer in the game and said Manziel will start next Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

“It would be hard to judge [him] on just one game,” Pettine said. “But again, it doesn’t just fall on him. We didn’t play well around him at all.”

It’s not all on the players, either. The Browns have the NFL’s single-most talented wide receiver in Josh Gordon, but targeted him just four times Sunday. He caught three passes for 48 yards, including a 32-yard reception.

Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan at times seems to forget what the Browns have in Gordon — a big, strong and fast player who can stretch the field like few others.

But for all of the problems with the offense, the Browns’ defense was even worse. The Bengals gashed the Browns for 244 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Jeremy Hill (25 carries, 148 yards, 2 TDs) and Giovanni Bernard (15 carries, 79 yards) often weren’t even touched until they were eight yards downfield. The front seven played soft and the secondary lost cornerbacks Joe Haden (shoulder) and Justin Gilbert (head) to first-half injuries.

“I don’t think we came out with the same energy that we came out with the last time [a 24-3 Browns win in Cincinnati on Nov. 6],” said Browns linebacker Jabaal Sheard. “If our offense is going to go three-and-out, we have to make sure we go three-and-out as a defense.”

The best defensive play made by someone from Cleveland came when a fan wearing Haden’s No. 23 jersey employed a forceful, two-handed shove to keep Hill out of the Dawg Pound on an ill-advised leap after a second-quarter touchdown run.

That lone fan showed more desire to keep the Bengals out of the Dawg Pound than the Browns did to keep them out of the end zone.

That should bother Browns fans even more than Manziel’s struggles.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.