MCL sprain ends Greco’s season

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Browns offensive right guard John Greco will miss the final two games with a knee injury.

Greco, a Boardman High School graduate, sprained his medical collateral ligament on the second play of Sunday’s 30-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said Greco will not need surgery, but he will be sidelined for Cleveland’s games against Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

Greco started Cleveland’s first 14 games and the 30-year-old has made 54 starts for the Browns since being acquired from St. Louis in 2011.

The loss of Greco is another blow to Cleveland’s line as left guard Joel Bitonio has been sidelined with his second ankle injury.

Struggling rookie Cam Erving replaced Greco on Sunday and will likely start on Sunday against the Chiefs.

Erving was the No. 19 overall pick in this year’s draft. He has been overpowered at times on offense and especially while blocking for field goals.

Quarterback Johnny Manziel was one of the team’s few bright spots against the Seahawks. The second-year quarterback didn’t crumble from the pressure while playing on the road against one of the NFL’s fiercest defenses and in front of its wildest crowd.

Seattle’s soundstage wasn’t too big or noisy for Manziel. His teammates, though, looked overwhelmed.

Manziel took another positive step and showed more improvement. But the Browns (3-11) dropped passes, missed tackles and executed a few more head-scratching plays in a season that sunk weeks ago.

Although Manziel couldn’t get the Browns back into the end zone following an 80-yard touchdown drive to start the game, he earned high praise from Cleveland’s coaches and a few teammates for a solid all-around performance.

“I thought he handled it very well,” Pettine said. “There wasn’t at any point during the game where I felt he was unnerved or flinched or lost his poise.”

Manziel finished 19 of 32 for 161 yards, but his statistics are secondary to what the Browns are hoping to see down the stretch. In his second straight start and fifth this season, Manziel again looked like he belonged on the field. He commanded the huddle and efficiently ran the offense, checking out of plays during his pre-snap reads.

He scrambled — but only when he had to — and Manziel briefly silenced Seattle’s 12th Man when he fired a 7-yard TD pass to tight end Gary Barnidge in the first quarter.

This was the Manziel the Browns have been waiting to see.

“He was very calm, made some plays,” Pettine said.

“We went right down the field, made some throws. Overall, Johnny did a lot of positive things. I’m sure there’s some plays that he would want to have back as most quarterbacks would, but overall a lot of positives.”