Browns pick Austin Davis over Johnny Manziel to face Bengals

By foxsports
Published

BEREA, Ohio (AP) Johnny Manziel is still grounded.

Benched for bad behavior, Manziel will remain on the sideline after Browns coach Mike Pettine picked quarterback Austin Davis to start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Manziel was recently stripped of his starting job by Pettine after a video surfaced of the second-year quarterback partying in Texas during the team's bye week. With starter Josh McCown done for the season with a broken collarbone, Pettine had to promote one of his backups and chose Davis, who came off the bench in the fourth quarter of Monday night's loss to Baltimore.

Davis threw a tying touchdown pass and moved the Browns into position for a winning field goal, but Travis Coons' 51-yard attempt was blocked by the Ravens and returned by Will Hill 64 yards for a TD as time expired.

Davis, who went 3-5 in eight starts for St. Louis last season, completed 7 of 11 passes for 77 yards. The Browns signed the 26-year-old Davis in September and gave him a two-year contract shortly after he arrived.

''Austin took advantage of his opportunity on Monday night. He was prepared, played well and put us in position to win,'' Pettine said Wednesday. ''He's been great in the quarterback room all season and he has earned the right to start on Sunday. We expect him to play well.''

Manziel was surprisingly active for Monday's game, serving as Cleveland's No. 3 quarterback. He's moved one spot up the depth chart but the backup role isn't what the Browns envisioned when they selected him in the first round of the 2014 draft.

Manziel is 1-2 as a starter this season. He faced Cincinnati last month and completed 15 of 33 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown in a 31-10 loss.

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