Browns Film Room: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Johnny Manziel versus the Chiefs

The Cleveland Browns lost their second straight game, falling to the Kansas City Chiefs 17-13 this past Sunday. The Browns tried to play catch up after falling down 14 points, but time ran out before the Johnny Manziel and company could make the full comeback. It was a rough day for the quarterback as he was successful running the ball, but struggled mightily throwing it. He ended the day throwing for 136 yards and one interception, while also rushing for 108 yards—the second-highest total in the NFL for the week.

With legs working and the arm not so much, let’s check out the film of Manziel’s performance in the loss to the Chiefs.

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The Good: Running

The only real positive from Johnny Manziel’s performance against the Chiefs was his running. He rushed for 108 yards on the ground, many times gaining big-time first downs when the offense needed it. Here is an example of his playmaking ability he showed with his legs on Sunday.

This play is an excellent play call by offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. The play is a designed zone read play for Manziel. Manziel is called to read the outside linebacker to determine if he should hand off or keep the ball. He reads it well, seeing the linebacker crash inside. Manziel keeps the ball and runs free for a big 34-yard gain. Manziel used his legs to make a big play and start off the second half on a positive note.

The Bad: Slow Decision-Making

Johnny Manziel struggled with his decision-making and getting the ball out quickly. Often, he would hold onto the ball too long and lose opportunities to find open receivers, ending with him scrambling. He chose to use his legs rather than his arm. Here is an example of his slow decision-making.

In this second-and-8 play, the Browns line up with two receivers, two tight ends, and a running back. The main targets to focus on in this play are tight end Gary Barnidge and running back Duke Johnson. Barnidge, lined up on the end of the left side of the line, runs a post route, while Johnson, lined up in the backfield to the left of Manziel, runs out to the flat and then cuts up the sideline.

As you can see in the pictures above, both Barnidge (top) and Johnson (bottom) are running open for Manziel. Barnidge gets the inside leverage of the corner covering him, earning him a brief stint open at the top of the post route between the corner and the safety. Johnson uses the coverage of Barnidge to get open in the left corner of the endzone. The player in charge of covering Johnson loses him in the end zone, leaving him wide open near the pylon. But, Manziel does not pull the trigger on either of these options, choosing to scramble right into the rush.

The Ugly: Footwork

Johnny Manziel’s biggest weakness at this stage of his career is his poor footwork, which leads to inaccurate passes. Manziel has continually struggled with his footwork throughout his brief career, but it gets the best of him at times at the NFL level as he has made throws without throwing through his lower body. Here is an example of his poor footwork and how it has negatively impacted his throws.

This was Manziel’s first throw of the game and it was a big incompletion. In this play, tight end Gary Barnidge is running a corner route. He runs the route and benefits from blown coverage by the safety, who decides to cover the underneath route of receiver Travis Benjamin. The safety’s decision leaves Barnidge wide open on the corner. But Manziel overthrows the open tight end. The overthrow is due to the fact that Manziel throws the ball with all upper body. He threw off his back foot because of the oncoming rusher. He had time to throw through his front foot, which would have helped him make a more accurate pass. He rushed the pass and threw off his back leg, rather than following though with his front leg. He would have gotten hit either way, so he should have just followed through on his pass. It was a big mistake by Manziel early in the game.

Highlight of the Game

The highlight of the game was the comeback by the Browns in the second half. The Browns trailed by 14 at the half, but the team, especially the defense, stepped up in the second half. They scored 10 unanswered points after halftime, holding the Chiefs scoreless. The Browns showed heart and effort to not give up. It was fun to watch, especially with all the exciting scrambles of Johnny Manziel. But sadly, the second half was not enough to make up the 14-point deficit.

Lowlight of the Game

The lowlight of the game was the first half. It was a complete mess for the Browns. The Browns were outscored 17-3 in the first two quarters by Kansas City. Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense gouged the Browns defense. Smith was able to run around and make plays. On offense, the Browns did practically nothing. They were able to score just three points, totaling just 124 yards of offense. It was a disaster of a half.