Cardale Jones changed his Twitter profile after Ohio State's win over Northern Illinois.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The fact that I'm writing a story on Cardale Jones changing his Twitter profile shows just how bizarre things have gotten with Ohio State's quarterback battle.

After Ohio State's win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, Jones changed his profile to read: "3rd String QB @ The Ohio State University Oh Wait, 2nd String."

Jones started for the Buckeyes on Saturday, his sixth-straight start going back to last year, and his second in Ohio Stadium. It lasted a little more than a quarter.

Jones went 4-for-9 for 36 yards and two interceptions on Ohio State's first five possessions. He was replaced by J.T. Barrett early in the second quarter, and though Barrett wasn't particularly sharp either, he stayed in for the remainder of the game.

Urban Meyer reiterated this week that Jones would be the Buckeyes starter until Barrett beat him out. Barrett playing out basically three full quarters suggests that he might have done that, but Meyer said after the game that he didn't know who the starting quarterback was.

Meyer said he felt Jones deserved the job coming into the season because of what he did in Ohio State's national championship run last year.

In three games this year, Jones is 24-of-46 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Don't take Jones change changing his Twitter profile as any indication that Meyer has made up his mind. Jones changed his profile to this later on Saturday night.

Jones changed his profile again later on Saturday night. Bill Landis, Northeast Ohio Media Group 

Jones knows how to play the Twitter game. Don't forget this is the same guy who tweeted last spring that he was transferring to Akron.

But that doesn't make this any less crazy.

"Good question," Urban Meyer said of OSU's starting QB. "And I don't know that right now. I haven't had time to think about it." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Who is Ohio State's starting quarterback?

"Good question," Urban Meyer said Saturday. "And I don't know that right now. I haven't had time to think about it."

Is that even the right question?

To see the angst on the faces of the Buckeyes' offensive lineman as Northern Illinois took the field Saturday with 94 seconds to play, 80 yards from the endzone and trailing the defending National Champions by seven, it was clear the quarterback was part of this, but not all of this.

After No. 1 Ohio State (3-0) scooched past Northern Illinois 20-13, led by the defense and despite an offense with so many playmakers and not many plays, a question about one position wasn't enough.

Even if that's the most interesting position battle in college football.

In year four and game 44 of the Meyer era at Ohio State, the Buckeyes failed to gain 300 yards of offense for the first time, ESPN's stats discovered. Ohio State's string of 31 games with at least three touchdowns ended. Two quarterbacks played - Cardale Jones for the first 21 plays, J.T. Barrett for the final 45 - and neither very well. 

A week earlier in a slow-starting 38-0 win over Hawaii, Barrett had relieved Jones in the second quarter as well, but after halftime Jones returned. This time, when Jones threw his second interception and Meyer said something to the National Championship-winning quarterback he'd picked as his guy after a preseason competition, Jones was done.

Now what?

Does Jones make his fourth start of the season against Western Michigan next week, or does Barrett make his first? If the starter throws two interceptions, will he be pulled? Does Ohio State need a quarterback decision right now, or can this continue?

"I do believe in game reps," Meyer said, maybe edging toward a final answer. "That's something that I'm going to spend a lot of time thinking about."

Wait, wrong questions again. Quarterback is complicated, but if that was Meyer's only question right now, his life would be easier.

"You can say the offensive line is not blocking well, or we're not coaching well on the offensive line," Meyer said. "Then all of a sudden the receivers have some issues and the quarterbacks have some issues. It's discombobulated right now.

"I know there's going to be a million questions about the offense, and there should be."

Like ....

Braxton Miller?

Miller, spin move guy, the former quarterback who took eight direct snaps at quarterback last week, touched the ball five times Saturday. He threw one pass, basically a one-foot handoff on a jet sweep that gained three yards, and he ran four times for seven yards. He didn't catch a pass.

Quarterbacks?

Barrett was 11 of 19 for 97 yards with a pick and a touchdown, while Jones was 4 of 9 for 36 yards and two picks. Throw in Miller's pass and the quarterbacks were 16 of 29 for 136 yards, one score and three interceptions, while running nine times for 36 yards.

Play calling?

Offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, calling plays from the sideline after former co-coordinator Tom Herman called plays from the coaching booth last year, still is settling into a rhythm with Meyer. The head coach during the week admitted as much.

"Number one, we've got to give our players the right stuff at the right time to give them a chance and then they have to execute it," Meyer said Saturday. "We have a long way to go, coaching and playing."

Offensive line?

That group, which returned four starters and wants to play power as often as possible, didn't push anybody around. The Buckeyes were 2 of 13 on third down, the most jarring setback a third-and-2 failure with 2:21 left that was stopped for one yard. It could have ended the game, but instead put the game back on the defense as stalwarts like left tackle Taylor Decker, guard Pat Elflein and center Jacoby Boren combined anger and disgust in their looks on the bench.

"I feel like that was a microcosm of the whole game for us," Decker said. "We could just never really get anything going. For a third-and-short, we kind of pride ourselves on being able to run the ball. It's just frustrating not being able to get a couple yards on a critical play that could have finished out the game."

Question, question, question, question - with Cardale or J.T. somewhere in there.

One quarter of the way through the regular season, does the No. 1 team in the country know who its starting quarterback is? Neither Jones nor Barrett spoke to reporters after the game, after Jones was brought out after the first two wins, so ...

"I have no idea," co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said. "We've all been through it before. Sometimes it's a great thing, you create competition."

"No," linebacker Joshua Perry said. "That's the great thing, is I think we have two guys who can play really well. For the defense, as you can see, it doesn't really matter who's in at quarterback, we're going to go out and do our work."

"Cardale was the starter in the game, I don't know how Coach is going to handle it," Decker said. "They both do a great job when they come in there.

"Obviously as a whole offense, we didn't play well today. But I'm going to be really focused on trying to get my whole unit better and get myself better. Hopefully that can permeate throughout the offense and we can get this thing going."

The quarterbacks aren't alone in this. Jones threw two interceptions, one that Meyer attributed to a wet ball, another he called a misread. Barrett was picked when the Buckeyes tried a deeper throw and he didn't account for underneath coverage. And Barrett had another pass to the endzone that should have been intercepted but was dropped.

After Jones' five series went interception, Ezekiel Elliott fumble, field goal, three-and-out punt, interception, the offense started to roll on Barrett's second drive. That four-play, 44-yard drive was up-tempo and sharp.

But over Barrett's last eight full drives, the Buckeyes scored three points. Take away linebacker Darron Lee's interception return for a touchdown and Ohio State may have been looking at overtime.

Instead, they're looking at a 3-0 record and a quarterback question that's just part of a list.

"I'll have more information for you next week," Meyer said of his quarterbacks when he could have been talking about the entire offense, "after we decipher what exactly happened."

 

Elder is the No.1-ranked team in the Division I state poll. The Eagles are No. 3.

BEREA, Ohio – St. Edward built a 31-7 lead on Cincinnati Elder, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, then held off the Panthers’ fourth-quarter rally for a 31-20 win at Baldwin-Wallace’s Finnie Stadium.

The Eagles (3-1) are No. 3 in the Associated Press Division I state poll and No. 1 in the cleveland.com Top 25. They just might be No. 1 in both next week.

Check cleveland.com/hssports on Sunday for another story with several videos from this game, including action highlights.

The Panthers (3-1) were held to 146 yards in the first half, 135 of which came from the passing of Indiana commit Peyton Ramsey. But a fourth-quarter rally, aided by a St. Edward fumble and an onside kick recovery, had the Panthers down 11 in the final minute.

An interception by defensive lineman Michael O’Malley, who almost scored on the play, sealed the win for the Eagles. 

“He was looking straight at me and lofted it there,” said O’Malley. “I was going to take my chances taking it back. Honestly, I don’t think I was down. Kinda took me back to my CYO days at running back.”

Running back Cole Gest, an Indiana commit, had 15 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yarder that led to a 10-7 Eagles lead.cIt started a run of 28 consecutive points for the Eagles, who took a 31-7 lead into the fourth quarter. 

“We kind of kept them off the field for a while. First drive of the game was like an eight-minute drive and we got three points. That established the tempo,” said Eagles coach Tom Lombardo. “At the same time, they didn’t quit. Human nature sets in, you let your guard down. A couple penalties. An onside kick.”

Receivers Carl Jones (62-yard touchdown) and Mathew Gonzalez (49-yard reception) each had two of quarterback Jimmy Keefe’s three completions. The Eagles threw just seven times, opting instead to use Gest and Curtis Szelesta (10 carries, 24 yards, TD) and Keefe on the ground.

The Eagles rushed for 226 yards. The Panthers rushed for 26. Ramsey finished 31-of-53 for 349 yards and three touchdowns. Robby Oswald had 14 catches for 128 yards, and Nick Hall had nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

“We knew they were going to drive on us,” said defensive back Tony Butler. “We needed to make sure they didn’t break our will. Be a bend-but-don’t-break defense. We gave up 20 points, but they average 42 points per game, so we won this game with defense.”

The Eagles hosts Bergen Catholic (N.J.) Sept. 26. Elder hosts Centerville Friday.

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Ohio State's offense struggles again, as Elliott gains 100 workman-like yards in 20-13 win over MAC's Northern Illinois.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Fans seated in the scarlet cliffs of Ohio Stadium expected the thunder to shake loose sooner or later, like a stray bar of the Notre Dame fight song.

Maybe it would not be  meteorologically, although a cloudburst accompanied the introduction of former coach Jim Tressel as a member of the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame at the end of the first quarter Saturday afternoon.

But certainly they thought Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott would go booming metaphorically downfield, as he crashed through the line and bulled for yards after contact. You know, the way he had done in his trifecta of 200-yard rushing games in the postseason.

Instead, the defense (surprise, surprise) is carrying the Buckeyes.And at the monment, the Buckeyes offense is trying to find itself.

For his part, Elliott had a workman-like 108 yards in Ohio State's struggling 20-13 victory over Mid-American Conference contender Northern Illinois at The Horseshoe. There were no echoing, ringing peals and no torrents of yards. His long run for the day was only for 13 yards. He carried 23 times, lost a fumble and did not reach the end zone.

Elliott, however, provided one of two spectacular plays that seem to mock the Buckeyes' current "discombobulated" offense, to use coach Urban Meyer's word, and recall better days.

First, junior wide receiver Michael Thomas got free for the second-longest Ohio State pass of the game, a 23-yard touchdown throw from quarterback J.T. Barrett, who had replaced Cardale Jones, in the second quarter. It tied the game, 10-10.

On it, Thomas beat cornerback Paris Logan for a twisting catch, making a similar  balletic move to the one he had made against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Again, he got a single foot down barely inbounds at the side of the end zone

In the third quarter, Elliot headed into the usual fierce resistance that greeted him at the line of scrimmage.

"Early in the game they were cut tackling me," Elliott said, meaning trying to chop him down with shoulder blows to his legs. "The corner (6-1 Albert Smalls) wasn't even trying to cut tackle me, though. I just made up my mind to go up and over."

This too recalled the stunning 42-35 upset of Alabama, when Elliott stiff-armed one tackler, then hurdled a second and raced 54 yards before he was pushed out of bounds in the first quarter.

Saturday, despite splendid use of both lead and trail leg and excellent balance at the top of the jump, he gained only 6 yards on the play. It was one of the handful of times that the moaning "Zeeeeke" cry came from the stands, which had accompanied him so often on his rambling postseason runs.

"It was easily my highest (jump). I was a (Missouri) high school state champion in the hurdles," said Elliott. "I never really did it much in football. But that was my first really clean hurdle."

Elliott paid for it when he landed, when free safety Marion Moore and linebacker Jamaal Payton smashed him down.

The Ohio State junior has now gained at least 100 yards in eight straight games. In the absence of so much else on the offense, he is the constant.

Elliott said, "Right now we're a power-running team in the inside zone. We take shots downfield once we establish the run. The thing is, we're not starting out well. We get behind (both in score and in down-and-distance situations) and are not able to run our offense the way we're used to running it."

Ohio State lost three receivers off last year's team to the NFL in wide receiver Devin Smith (second round), tight end Jeff Heuerman (third) and wide out Evan Spencer (sixth.) The absence of players who could stretch the field is part of the reason for the problems in the passing game.

Elliott was not having any part of that argument. "This is the one of the best personnel-based teams in the nation," he said. "Personnel-wise, we have some very talented individuals. The execution is just not there right now."

Maybe the Buckeyes caught lightning in a bottle in their playoff run last year. If so, the cap came off the bottle with a roar on Elliott's runs.

"I'm not the one who's basing everything off the end of last year. Go back to the third game last year. We weren't that great a team," Elliott said.

Actually, the third game last year was against Kent State, a 66-0 rout.

"Right now, we are not the No. 1 team in the country," said Elliott. "We are not playing like it. But we have the potential to be No. 1."

Here are high school sports highlights from Saturday. See below for information on how you team’s accomplishments can be recognized in these daily roundups.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Here are high school sports highlights from Saturday. See below for information on how you team’s accomplishments can be recognized in these daily roundups. 

GIRLS TENNIS

Southwestern Conference tournament: Westlake’s Emma Peeler won the first singles championship with a 7-6 (2), 6-0 win against Avon’s Ana Lopez in the finals. Westlake scored 49 points as a team to claim the overall crown.

Avon finished second, Avon Lake was third and North Olmsted placed fourth among 10 teams.

Westlake Aris Jhaveri won the second singles crown, rallying for a 2-6, 6-3 (7) win in the finals.

The Demons also won the first (Leah Choban and Ashley Michelich) and second doubles (Sneha Ramachandran and Tricia King) tournaments.

Hathaway 5, Canfield 0: Hathaway Brown improved to 14-0 with the home win.

GIRLS GOLF

Turkeyfoot Invitational: Toledo St. Ursula won the event in Akron, and Jessica Hahn of GlenOak scored a 74 to win top individual honors.

All-tournament players included: Hahn, Julia Goodson (75) of Hudson, Pinya Pipatjarasgit (76) of St. Ursula, Madison Butler (77) of Highland, Kaylee Neumeister (77) of Cortland Lakeview and Danielle Roshong (78) of GlenOak.

After St. Ursula in the team standings, GlenOak placed second and Dublin Jerome finished third.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Spartan Invitational: Solon edged Pennsylvania’s North Allegheny to win the Division I at Youngstown’s Boardman High School. Juniors Danny Cohen and Joe Riordan placed first and second to spur the Comets. Cohen finished the course in an overall best time of 15:47.3.

Noah Perrin and Seth Conrad led Woodridge to a first-place team Division II finish. St. Vincent-St. Mary placed second, followed by Gilmour in third. Perrin and Conrad placed 14^th and 15^th, individually, with a 17:06 time. Field’s Clark Bookman won the Division II race in 16:28.9.

Maplewood won Division III.

McDonough Invitational: Chagrin Falls’ Joseph Bistritz won the blue race at VASJ in 16:19, helping his team place fourth. Hoban won the overall title, followed by Wickliffe in second and Western Reserve Academy.

Westlake’s Sebasitan Francesconi won the red race in 17:03.3. He helped the Demons finish fourth. Lakewood was first, followed by Howland and North Royalton.

Newark Invitational: Lakewood’s David Drushal finished third to lead Northeast Ohio runners. Drushal completed the Newark course in 16:25.8. His team was sixth.

Fayette Eagle Invitational: Hudson finished second behind Anthony Wayne, while runner Daniel Holder also placed second for the Explorers in 17:22.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Spartan Invitational: Chardon finished first, and Shaker Heights placed third in Division I. The Hilltoppers were led by Mikaylie Park, who placed 12^th in 19:32.4. Individually, the best time belonged to Solon’s Olivia Howell in 18:31.5.

Woodridge, like its boys, won the Division II girls event. Gilmour was second, followed by CVCA and St. Vincent-St. Mary. Gilmour’s Hannah Markel finished ahead of the Division II field in 19:14.2.

St. Thomas Aquinas won Division III.

McDonough Invitational: Chagrin Falls had six runners finish in the top 10 of the blue race at VASJ, led by Annie Zimmer’s first-place time of 19:29. Hathaway Brown was second, followed by Albion and West Geauga.

Maggie Wagner of St. Joseph Academy won the red race in 19:57.5. She helped St. Joseph finish second. North Royalton was first and had six top-10 individuals.

Newark Invitational: Lakewood finished eight and was the only Northeast Ohio team at Newark.

Fayette Eagle Invitational: Hudson placed fourth as a team. Its top two runners, Syndey Feekings and Tea Romanowski, finished 10^th and 11^th.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Chagrin Falls tournament: Twinsburg defeated Berkshire in the championship, 25-23, 25-16. Zoe Rivet had 17 assists in the title match, and Rachel Schank had six kills. Rivet, Schank and Madison Frey, who had 12 digs in the final, made the all-tournament team.

Renee Roche Invitational: Brecksville won the invite at Independence with a 25-12, 25-21 win vs. Riverside in the final. The Bees’ Shannon Williams was named tournament MVP, while Independence’s Hallie Zumack, Riverside’s Jen Durra, Bay’s Lila Robinson, St. Joseph Academy’s Haley Yuhasz and Buckeye’s Carrie Kis made the all-tournament team.

Riverside finished 2-1, earning wins against Buckeye and Independence before facing Brecksville.

Akron Firestone Invitational: GlenOak scored a 25-13, 28-30, 25-12 win vs. Parma in the championship. Maple Heights took third with a 23-25, 25-22, 25-15 comeback against Firestone and St. Vincent-St. Mary was fifth after a 26-24, 25-22 win vs. Columbia.

Brunswick 3, Kenston 2: Amanda Lessman’s 18 kills helped Brunswick to the 25-19, 16-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-8 win. Molly Grzybowski had 23 assists and Erika Overton added 19 more for the Blue Devils.

Magnificat 3, Walsh Jesuit 0: Magnificat left Walsh Jesuit with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-5 win.

Mount Notre Dame 3, Magnificat 0: Mount Notre Dame won, 25-14, 25-11, 25-21.

BOYS SOCCER

Lakewood 1, Brookside 1: Robby Fehrenbach’s save on a penalty kick early in the second half helped Lakewood preserve a draw on the road. Fehrenbach had three saves, while Bishal Ghimire scored the Rangers’ goal. Chris Jones had Brookside’s goal.

Eastlake North 5, Euclid 0: Matt Robinson scored twice, while Dario Lukic had five saves in a shutout performance.

St. Ignatius 4, Copley 1: The Wildcats jumped to a 2-0 first-half lead and won on the road.

Solon 2, Westlake 0: Josh Baskind and Jake Lynn scored for the Comets, who improved to 7-1-1. Goalie Will Meyer made seven saves and recorded his eighth shutout. Westlake fell to 5-1-2.

Berea-Midpark 3, Olmsted Falls 1: The Titans got goals from junior forward Adam Wade, junior Jacob Rahe and junior midfielder Danny Sasak, plus three assists from Danny Ruple.

Berea-Midpark 10, Elyria Catholic 1: Danny Ruple had four goals and an assist to tie his own school record of 17 goals in a season.

Fairview 1, Lutheran West 1: Fairview’s second-half goal wound up producing a draw between the Warriors and Longhorns. David Quayle gave Lutheran West a first-half lead. Jack Salamon provided Fairview’s equalizer.

North Ridgeville 2, Gilmour 1: Gary Browning and Riley Sayre scored for the Rangers in their road win.

Midview 3, Open Door: Two-first half goals pushed the Middies at home.

University School 6, West Geauga 0: University School scored four times in the first half of its win.

GIRLS SOCCER

Avon Lake 2, Shaker Heights 2: Host Shaker Heights scored twice in the final 13 minutes to salvage a draw. Abby Bugenske scored for the Raiders before Lauren Smith supplied the equalizer. Allie Heschel and Olivia Siko scored for Avon Lake.

Buckeye 3, Wellington 0: The Bucks used three second-half goals from Corrine Phillips, McKenzie Erne and Sophia Barnes to win on the road.

Firelands 3, Keystone 1: Lexi McCray’s two goals lifted Firelands at home. The Falcons broke a 1-1 tie at halftime.

Lake Catholic 6, Mentor 1: Marissa Fedele scored twice, and Lake Catholic pulled away with a four-goal second half.

Solon 3, Howland 1: A two-goal, first-half lead was enough to propel the Comets at home.

Amherst 2, Kenston 0: The Comets’ Taylor Moore scored twice in the first half for a road win.

Bay 3, Chagrin Falls 0: The Rockets’ Maddie Holmes scored all three goals in the second half.

Midview 12, Bedford 0: The Middies took an 8-0 lead in the first half to win at home.

North Olmsted 3, Mayfield 0: Madison Johnson, DeAvion Anderson and Riley Hau supplied the Eagles’ goals. Emily Patterson had seven saves in the shutout.

Cuyahoga Falls 3, Riverside 2: Cuyahoga Falls rallied from a 2-0 deficit with all three of its goals in the second half. Brooke Wilson scored two of them, while Lily Adams had the other.

Columbia 4, Oberlin 1: The Raiders jumped out to a 3-1 first-half lead and received goals from Emma Seitz, Sammi Carrico, Hannah Primozic and Lanie Welker. Lauren Garcia scored for Oberlin.

Orange 2, Beachwood 0: Orange scored once in each half at home.

Hathaway Brown 0, Toledo Notre Dame 0: Neither side could produce a goal during the game played in Toledo.

FIELD HOCKEY

Western Reserve Academy 1, Worthington Kilbourne 0 (OT): Cristen Barnett scored off a Tia Forsyth assist in overtime to lead Western Reserve Academy.

How your team can be included in these roundups

These roundups are based on box scores and game notes entered in cleveland.com’s database by school or team representatives. If your team is not participating in the box score program please contact your athletic director or coach and encourage them to do so. They can obtain instructions and database login information from High School Sports Manager Kristen Davis at kdavis@cleveland.com.

Kimauni Johnson scores three touchdowns for Ursuline in a 33-12 win against the Cougars.

MENTOR, Ohio -- Youngstown Ursuline running back Kimauni Johnson scored three first-half touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards Saturday as the Irish defeated host Lake Catholic, 33-12 at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.

Johnson, who missed two games earlier this year with a shoulder injury, scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and added an 11-yard score a few minutes later.

Lake Catholic coach Scott O'Donnell said the Irish were able to get Johnson running in a rhythm early, and the Cougars defenders had a tough time getting off their blocks.

The Irish, who outgained Lake Catholic 250-131 on the ground, found success running left all night behind offensive linemen Jabbar Price (6-5, 220) and Jonathan Neeley (6-5, 275).

"(Johnson) is explosive and he gets downhill," O'Donnell said. "They did a nice job up front really getting into us, which a lot of teams haven't been able to do. He broke a few here and there. They keep you off balance."

Johnson aggravated his shoulder injury on a hard tackle while playing defense in the third quarter and did not return to the game, though he said afterward that he could have played if he was needed and that coaches kept him on the sidelines for precautionary reasons.

Lake Catholic senior QB Chad Stalnaker tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the second half, but the Cougars' offense was unable to sustain drives throughout the game, and two of their three turnovers in the first half set up short touchdown drives for Ursuline.

"We put our defense in a lot of tough situations tonight," O'Donnell said. "We can't continue to do that and expect to win football games."

Stalnaker, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 179 yards, engineered a touchdown drive on Lake Catholic's opening possession of the second half, finding Darrius Alston for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 11:28 remaining in the third quarter.

But Ursuline's Marcus Mosley intercepted Stalnaker late in the third and Deion Edwards broke a 38-yard touchdown run on the second play of the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Irish.

Stalnaker added a 10-yard touchdown pass to Christian Topazio-Ackley with 4:43 left.

Lake Catholic travels to Youngstown on Sept. 25 to face Cardinal Mooney.

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"Last week was all odd and then this week they went to all odd, and we're having trouble with that right now," Urban Meyer said. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The expected return to the familiar excited Ohio State and the Buckeyes' offensive line as they anticipated facing a Northern Illinois 4-3 defense featuring four down linemen.

That's not what they got. 

For the third straight game, the Buckeyes saw a defense that didn't go 4-3, and it was the second game with three down linemen, with a linebacker entering the picture as another potential pass rusher. For the third straight game, Ohio State talked about problems dealing with it.

"Played all odd," Urban Meyer said to the first question of his news conference after Ohio State's 20-13 win over the Huskies. "They changed their defense.

"Last week was all odd and then this week they went to all odd, and we're having trouble with that right now."

What the Buckeyes prefer is a chance for their interior linemen to double team linemen, move them aside and let running back Ezekiel Elliott get to work. Against three down linemen, center Jacoby Boren winds up with a bigger noseguard on top of him and the guards are left trying to figure out where another defender may be attacking from.

"You prepare for one defense and they come on another one," left tackle Taylor Decker said. "Obviously everybody is going to play odd against us now, we've showed that we struggle against it. And that kind of takes away our double teams, which is what we like to do and run the ball up the middle. It creates problems for us and we just have to iron out those wrinkles."

Decker talked about the variety of disguised blitzes the line must face from that defense. And trying to run straight ahead with Elliott is more challenging if they're searching for the right block.

"When we double team we can move people and we can displace them," Decker said. "That odd defense, we just have to prepare for it better and have some better answers and just execute.

"It is very frustrating because I know we're capable of a lot better execution. I know our offense is kind of getting held back a little bit by us not executing. But this time last year we weren't playing at that level. And year to year our offensive line gets better and better and I have all the confidence in the world in each and every one of my teammates, especially the linemen, and we'll get it figured out."

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, Saturday night at Progressive Field. Tribe center fielder Abraham Almonte was picked off first base by White Sox closer David Robertson to end the game -- with Jason Kipnis batting. Here is a capsule look...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, Saturday night at Progressive Field. Tribe center fielder Abraham Almonte was picked off first base by White Sox closer David Robertson to end the game -- with Jason Kipnis batting.

Here is a capsule look at the game after a DVR review of the Fox SportsTime Ohio telecast:

One word: Brutal.

Can't happen: At a time when they desperately need to string victories, the Indians (73-74) have gone L-W-L-W-L-W-L since the second game of a doubleheader Sept. 13 -- all at home.

The Tribe slipped to 4.0 games behind the Houston Astros for the second AL wild card. The Astros defeated the Athletics, 10-6, in Houston.

Too big of a hump: The Indians were denied yet again in their bid to be above .500 for the first time since 2-1. They have lost the game after 70-70, 71-71, 72-72 and 73-73.

Cruise control: Rodon gave up six hits, walked one and struck out four.

Rodon went 4-for-4 in quality starts against Cleveland this season, giving up a combined three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings.

As was the case in the previous three, Rodon leaned on a power fastball/slider combination. He sprinkled in changeups.  

Study in frustration: Few games encapsulate the 2015 Indians better than this one.

The Indians' failure to execute in a variety of ways cost them dearly, with Almonte's blunder the last and most glaring example. Here are some other issues that stood out:

*Bottom of first inning: Kipnis led off with a double and moved to third on Francisco Lindor's first-pitch sacrifice bunt. Michael Brantley, too eager against an 0-1 fastball on the inner half, grounded to pulled-in shortstop Alexei Ramirez; Kipnis was forced to hold.

Ryan Raburn was hit by a pitch. Carlos Santana struck out.

*Bottom of third inning: Kipnis led off with a bunt single. Lindor reached for a first-pitch fastball on the outer half and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Brantley grounded out.

*Top of fourth inning: Adam Eaton led off with a single against Carlos Carrasco. Jose Abreu grounded toward short for what should have been a 6-4-3 double play -- except that Lindor threw wide to second baseman Kipnis. Eaton advanced third. The next batter, Melky Cabrera, hit a sacrifice fly.

So instead of leading, 1-0, the Tribe trailed, 1-0.

*Bottom of fourth inning: Raburn led off with a single and moved to third on Santana's double. Yan Gomes hit a sacrifice fly, Santana advancing to third. Johnson grounded weakly to pulled-in first baseman Jose Abreu, who fielded and turned his back to Santana as he raced Johnson to the bag. Santana did not attempt to score, then appeared to be upset with himself.

Too-eager Almonte popped out on a first-pitch changeup.

The Indians scored one when they should have scored two.

*Top of fifth inning: Rob Brantly led off with a walk after supposedly checking in time on a 3-2 pitch. Avisail Garcia singled. With Micah Johnson batting, catcher Gomes did not block a slider down and in, enabling Brantly to scoot to third and Garcia to second. Even though it was a wild pitch, Gomes makes such a block in his sleep.

With the infield forced to come in, Johnson dumped an RBI single into shallow left. It was nothing more than a pop that the shortstop catches easily at normal depth.  

Eaton grounded to Carrasco, who fired to Lindor for what should have been a 1-6-3 double play -- except that Lindor fumbled the transfer. Instead of the inning being over and the White Sox leading, 2-1, Garcia scored to make it 3-1. (Lindor and the Indians were fortunate that second-base umpire Chris Segal ruled the ball popped loose during the transfer and called Johnson out on the force.)

Fox SportsTime Ohio analyst Matt Underwood said: "Lindor's been so good that tonight's just been one of those nights where he's got to wonder: Did I get up on the wrong side of the bed, or what happened?''

In the seventh, Lindor was too casual on Eaton's grounder. Eaton beat the throw.

Rough ending: The White Sox (70-77) made it 4-1 in the eighth.

Chris Johnson's two-run homer off Robertson pulled the Tribe within 4-3. Almonte singled. Jerry Sands flied out.

Then Abe got picked.

Check out the top storylines, key games, top performers and more from Saturday of Week 4 of the 2015 football season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Saturday's football action saw No. 1 St. Edward stay undefeated against a tough Cincinnati Elder team at Baldwin Wallace.

The Eagles held off a late rally from the Panthers, who were the No. 1 team in Division I in the first Associated Press state poll, to win, 31-20. St. Edward running back Cole Gest rushed for two touchdowns. The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the cleveland.com Top 25.

In other Saturday action, No. 23 Lake Catholic fell behind early at home and lost to Youngstown Ursuline, 33-12.

No. 3 St. Ignatius lost in Pennsylvania to St. Joseph Prep, by a score of 35-6, and No. 4 Benedictine set a record for second quarter points in a 70-18 win over University School.

Check out links below for follow-ups and action videos of Friday's action as well as Saturday's results from top teams in the area as well as all across Ohio.

New content from Friday's games

The top matchup of Friday night was No. 5 Midview's 55-35 win against No. 7 Avon in a battle of 3-0 Southwestern Conference teams. Midview QB Dustin Crum set a Lorain County record with eight touchdown passes, and WR Logan Bolin tied a state-record with six touchdown receptions. Reporter Tim Bielik broke down the record-setting numbers. Check out video highlights and postgame interviews from the game.

Reporter Scott Patsko covered one of the bigger upsets of the week, where Medina handed No. 17 Elyria its first loss of the season, 31-17. Patsko also wrote after the game about if Medina is this year's surprise team. Watch video highlights of the game as well. 

In a matchup of Top 25 teams, No. 22 Hudson relied on its defense to beat No. 15 Nordonia, 21-7. Reporter Robert Rozboril examined the four keys to the Explorers' win. See action highlights from the game as well.

Reporter Joe Noga was in Olmsted Falls and saw North Ridgeville hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season in a 23-13 game. Watch video highlights from the game.

Copley stayed undefeated with a 43-26 win against Barberton. Freelancer Ryan Isley also recorded some action highlights from the game.

Freelancer Vince McKee was in Parma Heights and saw Bay running back Nick Best rush for two touchdowns as the Rockets beat Holy Name, 16-6. Check out video highlights from the game.

How the Top 25 fared

Now that Week 4 has finished, check out how all the teams in the cleveland.com Top 25 fared this week and who they play in Week 5.

How the best in Ohio fared

The first Associated Press state poll was released on Monday. See how all of those ranked teams in all seven divisions fared in Week 4.

Statewide scores

Check out scores from every Saturday high school game played in the state.

Scoreboard with every game, gateway to content

Check out this scoreboard for scores on all Saturday games involving a local team. Click the links for box scores, plus recaps/other content from many of the games.

Toledo Rockets were the last MAC football team of the day with a chance to win a game against a power conference team.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- On a Saturday filled with would-a, could-a, should-a chances for  Mid-American Conference football wins over major college programs, the day could have ended with nada. But the Toledo Rockets came through in double overtime against Iowa State, 30-23, in the Glass Bowl, for the league's lone big victory.

After scoring a TD in the second extra period, the Rockets' (2-0) defense stopped Iowa State on downs inside its 10 to set UT fans streaming onto the field.

Moral victories mounted for the MAC Saturday but tangible wins were elusive. The Rockets, with an 8 p.m. kickoff, was the MAC's last chance to smile in the third week of the football season.

ISU (1-2) had a chance to win in regulation, but missed a 32-yard field goal at the final horn.

The Cyclones had the first overtime possession and hit a 44-yard field goal for a  23-20 lead. Toledo's OT possession followed. The first play was a dropped touchdown pass. The third was a bobbled first-down pass ruled out of bounds. After review the ruling was confirmed leaving the Rockets with a 42-yard field goal try to tie.

Jameson Vest, with a career long of 38 yards entering the game, set a new mark for himself that knotted the game.

In the second OT, tailback Damion Jones-Moore gave UT a 30-23 lead with a 10-yard TD run. Now it was up to the defense, which stood tall at the end.

UT nearly fell to Iowa State despite having a 10-point lead early in the second half. The Rockets had chances, but left points on the field in the first half and dropped  key passes throughout to stymie drives.

The Rockets led 13-10 at the half, then had to settle for a field goal after a blocked punt had led to a UT possession at the ISU one. And just before the half a 37-yard field goal was missed.

The lone positive for the sputtering offense was junior tailback Kareem Hunt from Willoughby South High. He came off a two-game suspension, delivering 87 yards at halftime and finishing with 129, marking his 12th straight game over 100.

In five early MAC games against the likes of Syracuse, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Memphis and Ohio State, MAC teams lost by a combined total of 20 points.

Bowling Green (Memphis) and Miami (Cincinnati) had fourth-quarter leads. Central Michigan (Syracuse) sent its game into overtime, while Northern Illinois (Ohio State) and Kent State (Minnesota) both had fourth-quarter chances at upsets.

That left it up to the Rockets to get a triumph over a major conference opponent. UT got a big boost early in the third quarter when quarterback Phillip Ely's fumble into the Cyclones end zone was recovered by a teammate for a 20-10 lead.

But the visitors used a long drive for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to close within a field goal, then got a 47-yard boot to tie the game with just under 10 minutes left.

After holding the Rockets on downs, Iowa State converted on two long third-down plays to get within field goal range inside the final two minutes. But the field goal was missed, and the game went into overtime.

With the reprieve, the Rockets prevailed.

Rookie shortstop Francisco Lindor has tough night in the field as Indians ninth-inning rally falls short against White Sox.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Francisco Lindor has had a lot good games since he was promoted on June 14. Saturday night was not one of them.

The rookie shortstop committed an error and failed to turn a double play at critical junctures as the Indians lost to the White Sox, 4-3, at Progressive Field. The White Sox took advantage of both openings to keep the Indians from climbing above the .500 mark and keeping pace in the wild card race.

The Indians tried to rally late as Chris Johnson hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. After Abraham Almonte followed with a single, David Robertson retired Jerry Sands on a fly ball to right and ended the game by picking Almonte off first without throwing a pitch to All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon (8-6, 3.78) improved to 3-0 against the Indians this year. In five appearances, Rodon has a 1.52 ERA (five runs in 29 2/3 innings) against the Tribe.

Saturday night Rodon allowed one run on six hits in 7 2/3 innings. The Indians are 21-30 in games started by lefties this season.

Carlos Carrasco (13-11, 3.62) struck out nine in five innings, but took the loss. He allowed three runs, two of them earned. Carrasco is 1-4 against the White Sox this year and 3-8 in his career.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Melky Cabrera's. Lindor's 10th error made the run possible.

After a single by Adam Eaton, Jose Abreu sent a grounder to short. Lindor fielded it, but made an bad throw to second as Eaton upended Kipnis and continued to third on the error.

Cabrera followed with his sacrifice fly.

The Indians made it 1-1 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Yan Gomes. Ryan Raburn, who singled and went to third on Carlos Santana's double, scored.

The White Sox regained the lead, 2-1, in the fifth as Rob Brantly scored on a bloop single to left by Michah Johnson. With one out and runners on the corners, Eaton sent a double play ball back to the mound. Carrasco gathered it and threw to Lindor at second to start.

Lindor, however, had trouble with the transfer. He forced the runner at second, but dropped the ball before throwing to first. The White Sox challenged the play, saying Lindor didn't make the force, but the ruling on the field was upheld after 2:12 review.

It was an interesting night for Lindor.

In the sixth, Chicago's Trayce Thompson interferred with Lindor as he tried to get Rob Brantly's grounder. Thompson was called out on interference and Brantly reached on a fielder's choice.

In the seventh, Eaton sent a grounder to Lindor for what appeared to be an out, but Eaton outran Lindor's throw to first for  single.  

Brantly stretched the White Sox's lead to 4-1 with a double off Shawn Armstrong in the eighth.

What it means

The Indians (73-74) failed for the fourth time in seven days to climb above the .500 mark. They have still won 15 of their last 23 games, but dropped four games behind Houston for the second wild card spot.

The White Sox (70-77) won for just the fourth time in their last nine games. Chicago is 19-12 on the road since June 30.

Bullpen debut

Trevor Bauer, moved to the bullpen on Thursday, made the first relief appearanceof his big legue career in the ninth inning.

He struck out Johnson and Eaton, but gave up a double to Abreu. Bauer ended the inning by getting Cabrera on a grounder to third. 

Thanks for coming

The Indians and White Sox drew 16,390 fans to Progressive Field on Saturday night. In 71 home dates, the Indians have drawn 1,269,285 fans.

What happens next?

The Indians and White Sox conclude their season series Sunday when RHP Josh Tomlin (5-2, 2.70) meets Chicago lefty John Danks (7-12, 4.56) at 1:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.

Tomlin is coming off a complete-game loss to the Royals. On Sept. 9, he beat the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing three runs in the victory.

Danks is 1-4 in his last seven starts. He's 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts against the Indians this year. In his career, Danks is 5-13 in his career against the Indians.

After the game, Browns coach Mike Pettine met with reporters. He talked about Johnny Manziel, Travis Benjamin and the play of the Cleveland defense.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Browns won their 2015 home opener Sunday, 28-14, over the Tennessee Titans. After the game, Browns coach Mike Pettine met with reporters. Here is a transcript of what he said, as provided by the Browns' media-relations staff:

Opening statement:

"On an injury front couple of bumps and bruises. Mingo's (LB Barkevious Mingo) knee is a little bit sore, we'll see how that is. Des (DL Desmond Bryant) was a game time decision with the shoulder, we'll see how he came out of it. Overall we played well enough to win, got off to a great start. They battled back, I gave them credit. There was the rollercoaster of an NFL game. There was that long lull in the third quarter when we couldn't get much going and gave up some plays. Overall when we needed to make plays defensively we did. Seven sacks, I think we ended up with three turnovers. Offensively, I was pleased with the way we ran the ball. I think we ended up around four yards a carry and we made some big runs when we had to. You just can't say enough about the recovery of Travis Benjamin, has come back from the knee fully. I just told him he might not be allowed in Nashville ever again. He's the Titan killer as I called him on the sideline a couple times. It's great to see a guy battle back and have the production that he's had. He's done everything that we asked and had a phenomenal offseason and the results have showed. From a quarterback standpoint, some inconsistency but clearly made some big plays.

Disappointing thing again was the football getting away from us a couple of time. We were fortunate not to turn the ball over at all even though there were a couple times it was on the ground. We did get it back but that's something we certainly will need to address and get cleaned up.

On Manziel's last touchdown pass of the game:

"Certainly wasn't the way the play was designed. I think Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) had the best line of the day on the headset after he rolled out of it, ended up throwing backwards across the field, scored the touchdown. He just says real calmly while everybody was cheering, he said 'coaching is overrated' (laughter). They did a nice job, brought pressure. We didn't pick it up. Johnny did a nice job getting out of it and finding (WR) Travis (Benjamin) and making a play."

On what the plan was for that play:

"The protection was firmed up we should have been able to pick that look up. I'll have to look at the tape. I don't know whether we miscommunicated but they ended up with one outside that we should have been able to slide to. It was going to be a much more conservative pass on the other side of the field. When he rolled away we really didn't have any receivers on that side of the field because we protected it up but he was able to buy some time and find Travis coming across."

On if Benjamin adjusted his route:

"Yeah, I think he saw the scramble and just flattened it out. He knew he had gotten above the defender and it was just a matter of just out running him with the football."

On what he saw in practice to give him confidence in Manziel starting:

"As I said, he was prepared. He had gone through a lot of the reps with the ones, sitting in on meetings and then meeting with the quarterbacks on Saturday, getting a good sense of where they are from a mindset standpoint. Having him talk about what plays he likes from the game plan and why, just being interactive. I think - this is any position- I think when players are interactive with the plan, 'we like this.', 'we don't like this.' As coaches we can go ahead and, I always say 'hey, we're not the ones out there playing. They're the ones out there trying to execute these plays so let's make sure they're confident in what we're doing.' He was very interactive with the plan and again, there's some inconsistency there but he made enough plays for us to win."

On if Manziel will keep the starting job:

"(QB) Josh (McCown) is in the concussion protocol still. So until that situation is resolved, then he will be the starter."

On if Manziel will start after McCown is cleared:

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm not going to speak on that one."

On the TD on the second play of the game:

"It was something we had schemed up that we knew we wanted to take a shot, if they came out in a certain personnel grouping that we felt that we could get Travis behind the defense."

On if it was a part of the plan for Manziel to be conservative with his throws:

"It wasn't to be that conservative, we got a little bit conservative in the third quarter and they did a good job- it would have been hard to justify up 21 to come out and be throwing the ball. We wanted to make sure at the very least that the clock was moving. They did a good job knowing that. Bad things can happen when you throw the football and especially with the lead we did not want to- we weren't sitting on it but at the same time we were picking our best runs and wanted to make sure that we worked the clock and that the possessions weren't fast. Like I said, I give them credit for defending what we did and we found I thought a critical part was that last drive where we were able to punch that ball out and hit some big runs. Then we got the first down, we were able to end up driving down and taking the shot."

On the key to putting pressure on Titans QB Marcus Mariota

"I think it was a good mix. I think Jimmy O (defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil) did a really good job mixing pressure with straight rush. We got to him a lot with just straight four man rush. Not just the sacks, I think there was also a cumulative effect with that we hit him a bunch too. We did a good job of there were a lot of pass plays, I look back, he's picking himself up off the ground. Anytime you can do that to a quarterback, not just get the production with the sacks but affect him, you like to think that that has a cumulative effect over the course of a game."

On the game plan at fourth and inches:

"We debated, do we want to go up three scores. Anytime its inches we have confidence in our guys that we can make it. We felt we were up two scores and that we felt we could get that. I give credit to them for stopping us, we didn't execute the play, the sneak well enough. It's easy to say I regret it now that it didn't work out, we just felt we had momentum. The way we were playing defense we had them shut out to that point. It was a decision we made and we rolled with it."

On if that is what he wanted to see out of RB Isaiah Crowell in regards to breaking tackles: "That was the big challenge all week. Running hard, breaking tackles. It is not just him. That whole room - I thought Duke did a nice job as well and hit some runs where it wasn't blocked for much and the next thing you know the sticks were moving or it was a real positive gain. I thought both backs did a real good job.

On the play of the defense:

"There is definitely some things to get cleaned up, but overall anytime you hold an offense down for that long you are going to be successful. When you get to the quarterback seven times and you get some takeaways. You are going to win a heck of a lot more games than when you don't. That group took the challenge. I think the whole team did. You heard it from talking to guys in the week Whitner especially - embarrassed or whatever it was that we didn't go out there with our best effort and we let the circumstances the way the Jets game went, get to us a little bit. I thought the sideline did a great job. The energy was up even though the third quarter went the way it did with us not generating much offense. Overall I felt it was a great team win. We got a contribution from special teams. The (offense) did some good things to get us the lead and obviously close the game for us. Defensive they were solid throughout."

On if Manziel looking to run less was a result of game planning by the Titans or the coaching staff emphasizing it:

"I think he has a good sense of when to get out of the pocket if it opens up. I thought they did a good job of running some interior line games where you could tell they game planned for it, whereas New York did not. Just my sense from the sideline there weren't kind of as many gaping scramble lanes. I thought they did a good job of keeping him the pocket."

On the performance of WR Travis Benjamin:

"To me, you can't be happier for a guy for what he has gone through. Coming back and last year not being 100 percent and that really weighed on him. When you see a guy buy in and prepare the way he prepared. Anybody that spent time around him - you all know he is a great player and an even better person. Those are the kind of guys you root for. It was awesome to watch him have the production that he did."

On how important it was to get the win today:

"To me, all wins are important. It was great. I told the guys afterwards there is no better view than to stand there in the locker and look at the look on their faces. Winning in front of our crowd. There is no better feeling just to see them celebrate afterwards. It is special. Winning is hard in the NFL. For us to be able to do it in front of our home fans on our opener it makes it that much more special."

On LB Barkevious Mingo's knee injury:

"I am not sure if it was the same knee or not. I don't think it was anything serious. I think it is something we will have to monitor."

On 'what channel he had the remote' set on during the game:

"We control the volume. I thought our fans did a great job. They stayed in the game, too. We didn't give them much to cheer about in third quarter and in the fourth when they came back and got it to within a score. They were there for us in the end. That is what I tell our guys. We want them to be loud and use it as an advantage that we have to do that. I thought at the end of the game they were outstanding."

On Manziel's second touchdown throw:

"It was a heck of a play. He felt pressure coming from his blind spot. It was vintage Manziel. We want him to play within structure and make a read, but when a play breaks down that is what he brings. The ability to escape. He did an outstanding job. I thought he had the chance to just run there. One of the signs of maturity there too was that he kept his eyes down field. He used that as an opportunity - 'I am not just going to get 'X' number of yards and slide. I am going to keep my eyes down the field and make a play.' We saw the result."

Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said that his team's offense had trouble converting and communicating on third down and long Sunday, and he said the loudness of the Browns' fans had a lot to do with it.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Tennessee Titans and rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota had a tough time solving the Browns' defense Sunday in Cleveland's 28-14 win at FirstEnergy Stadium.

After the game, Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said the Cleveland fans had a lot to do with it, especially on third down.

The Browns sacked Mariota seven times for 38 yards in losses Sunday, and hit him hard several other times shortly after the ball was out of his hand. For the day, Tennessee converted 7 of its 16 opportunities on third down.

"It's difficult because it put us in third and long," Whisenhunt said of the Browns' defensive pass pressure and the Titans' penalties on offense. "The noise element makes it tough. 

"When you get multiple (defensive) looks like that team gives you, the noise plays a big part of it, because you have to communicate that (how to block the defense). We didn't do a good job with that, because third-and-longs make it difficult.

"Third-and-longs are tough in this league, especially in that environment. Give them credit. The fans were loud and made it difficult for us. That's home-field advantage."

 

Much has been made of Lonnie Chisenhall's defense in right field since the 26-year-old returned from a trip to the minors. On Sunday, Chisenhall reminded those watching of his offensive ability.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Much has been made of Lonnie Chisenhall's defense in right field since the 26-year-old returned from a trip to the minors. On Sunday, Chisenhall reminded those watching of his offensive ability. Chisenhall is batting .319 since rejoining the Tribe in late July. His home run off of southpaw John Danks on Sunday -- his first against a lefty since May 31, 2014 -- spurred the Indians toward a 6-3 win.

Here is what Chisenhall, manager Terry Francona and Josh Tomlin said about Sunday's triumph.

Chisenhall, on his offensive production since returning from a stint at Triple-A:

"It's a long season. I attribute it a lot to confidence. You want to go up there feeling good about yourself and that's not easy to do looking up at the scoreboard and not seeing good stuff. So you have to go down to Columbus, get a little breather, start seeing a few balls drop and then coming back swinging it."

Chisenhall, on changes he has made to his approach at the plate during the course of the season:

"I've made so many tweaks during the season. I think everybody does. Nothing really that was an overhaul or a big change."

Francona, on the decision to start Chisenhall against a lefty:

"I didn't want him to go four or five days without playing, and he had had some success off Danks before, so I thought it was a good day for him to play, especially with a day off [Monday]. Shoot, he jumped on the first fastball, so that really gave us a lift. I just think, every once in a while, facing a guy like that is probably good for him, too, besides the fact that he helped us win the game."

Chisenhall, on his somewhat rare opportunities to face left-handed pitching:

"[Francona] has a lot of sheets of paper over there. I know he's putting everybody in the best matchup possible to succeed. That's what I attribute it to. They do a great job in their analytics department. Obviously today was a good matchup for me and it worked out."

Francona, on not restricting Chisenhall to only facing righties:

"I don't think he needs to be a straight platoon, because he does handle certain lefties. That's why we try to use some judgment there, because I think you can almost do a disservice by not playing him against some lefties."

Chisenhall, on making himself more valuable by playing multiple positions:

"When I went down there, when I asked to play different spots, I said, 'I'm a baseball player. I don't want to be pigeon-holed, be stubborn and stay at third.' I told them, 'I can play first, I can play outfield,' whatever they need me to do. I consider myself a baseball player. [So I] come in here every day and try to do that."

Tomlin, on walking three in 5 2/3 innings after walking three in his previous 50 innings:

"I was kind of battling getting that ball on the edges to righties, especially. I kept yanking it away, trying to maybe be a little to fine in some of those situations. I was able to make pitches whenever I needed to and whenever I walked guys. I was definitely fighting it a little bit."

Francona, on Tomlin's eight strikeouts; the right-hander has tallied five or more strikeouts in each of his eight starts:

"He's not a power pitcher, but because of his ability to command and spin the breaking ball, he probably gets more strikeouts than maybe you would think. I think he's definitely capable of that."

Francona, on the Indians' Wild Card chances with two weeks remaining:

"The best way I know how to do it is, Tuesday night, play as well as we can and try to win that game. Thinking two weeks ahead doesn't help. You miss what's right in front of you."

Francona, on the upcoming series against Minnesota, another team in the thick of the Wild Card hunt:

"Because of how we played earlier, we have to make up ground. They're a good team, so they're difficult to play, but it also guarantees that if you win, you make up ground. It will be fun to play. We've played well enough that these games are so meaningful that rather than get too far ahead of ourselves, just take it as it comes and keep playing."

The Cleveland Browns needed Johnny Manziel to pick up a first down late in Sunday's game. He did much more. Whether it's enough to earn a second start is a question for another day -- Bud Shaw's Sports Spin. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - To say Johnny Manziel overcame two fumbles to win his first NFL game is an even bigger understatement than what Manziel heard when he sprinted left late in the fourth quarter.

"I knew when (Brian) Orakpo said, "Oh, (bleep), we were going to have a good play," Manziel said of the Tennessee linebacker he eluded.

Like the Titans' secondary trying to locate Travis Benjamim Sunday, "good play" falls well short of covering what happened with the Browns' offense needing a first down (at least) to preserve the season's first win.

Browns' head coach Mike Pettine called the 50-yard broken-play TD to Benjamin that sealed a 28-14 Browns win "vintage Manziel."

In so many other ways, this day was all about Manziel's fresh start.

After 73 days of treatment in a clinic. After a rookie season that ended in a locker room timeout in Baltimore. A hamstring treatment missed because he overslept.

A 30-0 disaster the last time he started a real game in front of the home crowd. After all that, Sunday carried a higher degree of difficulty than anything Manziel accomplished in his college career.

"I've come along way from that point on Jan 17," Manziel said of the day he entered a treatment center. "So to be sitting here today and have an ultimate turnaround from what it was in the first two starts I had last year, personally, it feels awesome."

Save the discussion about whether Manziel should start over McCown against the Raiders (or forevermore) for a day or two.

It's possible to appreciate Manziel's bookend moments Sunday -- 110 yards worth of air and electricity connecting him to Benjamin and the home crowd -- and not get caught up in the details (2-for-4 passing in the second half) or the future.

In between the two biggest plays of the game, Pettine identified a "lull" in the proceedings.

Another understatement: After the first two drives, Manziel went 3-10 for 22 yards during one stretch.

Whether they go with Manziel or go back to Josh McCown once he's cleared from concussion protocol, the Browns are going to have to come to grips with the need for their quarterback to make plays to win games.

A 21-0 lead took them down a conservative path that did the defense and Manziell no special favors.

Twice, in obvious passing situations, Manziel was hit and fumbled. Both times teammates covered it for him.

"It would have been hard to justify up 21 to come out and be throwing the ball," Pettine said. "(Tennessee) did a good job knowing that. Bad things can happen when you throw the football and especially with the lead...we weren't sitting on it...but at the same time we wanted to make sure we worked the clock."

If that wasn't sitting on it, you don't want to see sitting on it. At least not if the hope is to stay awake.

The Browns threw on first down with 9:35 remaining in the second quarter, then never again. They threw on second down just twice after that.

Manziel's two completions and four attempts in the second half wasn't all about the scoreboard. The two fumbles spooked the coaching staff.

Not him, apparently. The surprise isn't just that he kept his eyes downfield for Benjamin to break open instead of scrambling for a first down on the play that ended Tennessee's hopes.

The surprise is that he didn't have to lube his elbow with some 3-and-1 oil before launching the pass to Benjamin.

"It was a heckuva play," said Pettine. "He felt pressure coming from his blind spot. We want him to play within a structure and make a read, but when a play breaks down that is what he brings. The ability to escape. He did an outstanding job there."

Against the Jets, Manziel and McCown led the Browns' rushing "attack." Sunday Manziel stayed in the pocket and wasn't exactly asked to pick apart the Titans' defense.

His only other completion in the second half was a 16-yard quick screen to Andrew Hawkins.

Even if his third NFL start didn't earn him another one next week, he should earn some trust because of the how the day ended.

And after how last season ended, that's no small thing.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said after Sunday's win that with Josh McCown still in the NFL's concussion protocol, there's no reason to make a decision on a starting quarterback right now.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - After watching Johnny Manziel roll out and make a vintage Johnny Football play at the end of Sunday's 28-14 victory over the Titans, Mike Pettine might have a decision to make next week.

Does he go back to Josh McCown, the uncontested starter throughout training camp? Or does he stick with Johnny Jamboogie, who rocked FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday with touchdown passes of 60 and 50 yards to Travis Benjamin, including that backyard-ball 50-yarder that sealed the victory with 2:52 remaining.

Or will he have a decision to make at all?

* Who do you think should start? Vote in the poll

"Josh is in the concussion protocol still,'' said Pettine. "So until that situation is resolved, then (Manziel) will be the starter."

And if McCown is cleared this week, will he start Sunday against the Raiders?

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm not going to speak on that one," Pettine said.

After recording his first career victory, how badly does Manziel was to keep starting?

"Anytime you get this feeling, even going back into last year when we were winning some games, what a feeling that is here in the city, Cleveland, especially getting a home game next week coming off a win,'' he said. "This place'll be electric. So to keep that momentum going, to keep trying to string these wins together, that's what we've got to keep trying to do.''

But what about him? How much does he want to get the nod against the Raiders and fellow 2014 draftee Derek Carr?

"I want to do whatever I'm supposed to do for this team,'' he said. "So whether Josh comes back and we make a move, or whatever the case is, I'm going to do whatever I'm told to do, whatever I'm asked to do. I think that's my job here. Obviously, I want to be out there playing, but if that's not the case, I'm going to take it in stride and prepare like I would be the guy."

McCown, who suffered a concussion on his "helicopter'' ride into the end zone against the Jets, was symptom-free throughout the week and was confident he'd be cleared to start against the Titans, a source told Northeast Ohio Media Group. But his fate is in the hands of the medical people, including the Browns doctors and independent neurologists.

Manziel, meanwhile, threw only 15 passes and completed eight of them for 172 yards -- including TDs of 60 and 50 yards to Travis Benjamin.

He earned a 133.9 rating, the highest for the Browns since Derek Anderson posted a 140.3 in 2007. He was also strip-sacked twice, same as last week. The difference is, Manziel's teammates bailed him out this week, with recoveries by Mitchell Schwartz and Duke Johnson.

"From a quarterback standpoint, some inconsistency, but clearly made some big plays,'' said Pettine. "Disappointing thing again was the football getting away from us a couple of times. We were fortunate not to turn the ball over at all even though there were a couple times it was on the ground. We did get it back but that's something we certainly will need to address and get cleaned up.''

That, and a potential quarterback controversy, too.

 

The Browns beat the Titans on Sunday and Dennis Manoloff and Dan Labbe broke it all down after.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns beat the Titans, 28-14 on Sunday. Johnny Manziel won his first NFL game as a starting quarterback. Following the game, Dennis Manoloff and I broke everything down on our postgame show. Among the topics we discussed:

Johnny Manziel's performance.

The improved play of the secondary.

The defense as a whole.

The coaching staff's approach following last week's debacle.

The improved running game.

You can listen in the player above, subscribe on iTunes or download the mp3 here.

The Browns turned to their running backs on Sunday and their running backs responded.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The highlight everyone will talk about is the 50-yard completion from Johnny Manziel to Travis Benjamin that put a dagger in the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The hard work, though, was done by two players who didn't even touch the ball on that play.

Running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson, a week after struggling against the New York Jets, found room to run on Sunday and powered the Browns on their final scoring drive of the day. Crowell rushed four times for 25 yards, including a 15-yard run to start the drive from the Browns' 20-yard line, while Johnson added two carries for five yards.

Crowell ended the day with 72 yards on 15 carries and a score while Johnson collected 43 yards on 12 carries.

"That was the big challenge all week," head coach Mike Pettine said. "Running hard, breaking tackles. It is not just him. That whole room - I thought Duke did a nice job as well and hit some runs where it wasn't blocked for much and the next thing you know the sticks were moving or it was a real positive gain. I thought both backs did a real good job."

"We took that to heart," Crowell said of the coaching staff's call to break more tackles. "Me and Duke did. We just had to go out there and just show coach that he can trust us."

Leading 21-0 at halftime, the coaching staff entrusted the two backs with putting the finishing touches on the game. Of the Browns 20 offensive plays in the second half, 13 of them were carries for either Crowell or Johnson. (One of those 20 plays was Johnny Manziel's kneel down.) Crowell carried seven times in the second half for 39 yards and Johnson carried six times.

"I think it just lets (Pettine) know that he can just trust us while we're out there," Crowell said of the workload by the running backs on Sunday. "The main thing is protecting the football and just trying to get what we can get."

The biggest obstacle for Crowell on Sunday turned out to be the field goal net following his first quarter touchdown run from 11 yards out. Crowell got caught up in the net on his way to celebrating with the fans in the stands.

"They gotta get that down," Crowell said, laughing. "They put it up too fast."

Cleveland Browns running game and offensive line step up in home opener. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Browns notebook after their 28-14 victory over Tennessee ...

1. With 6:42 left, the Browns had the ball on their own 20. They had a 21-14 lead. The Browns opened that drive with six running plays. Four times, Isaiah Crowell carried the ball. Twice, it was Duke Johnson. They delivered two first downs and 30 yards as the line did its work.

2. Then Johnny Manziel and Travis Benjamin combined for that scrambling 50-yard touchdown pass. But it was the running plays and the blocking that set up the deep pass that caught Tennessee's defense by surprise.

3. The Browns were supposed to be built for this situation with an offensive line that would open holes for a running game that would chew up yards and that clock. That's exactly what happened in the fourth quarter.

4. The offensive line was flagged for six penalties in the 31-10 loss to the Jets last week. Every player except Joe Thomas was penalized. This week, the Browns had only four penalties. Two were on the line, both holding calls on guard Joel Bitonio. So the line was far more cohesive after the embarrassment against the Jets.

5. Coach Mike Pettine said he challenged the backs to start "running hard, breaking tackles." He said Crowell and Johnson did just that. They combined for 115 yards in 27 carries. Crowell had a bullish 11-yard TD run.

6. One of the reasons for the Browns' success on offense was that Manziel threw only 15 passes. Along with Manziel's three carries, the Browns had 30 rushes to those 15 passes. That's a good way to keep pressure off the quarterback. But for that to work, you have to block and run the ball reasonably well.

7. When Tennessee dumped Tampa Bay 42-14 in its opener, rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota only threw 16 passes. The Titans ran it 32 times. The ground game can set up those long passes to Benjamin.

8. Tennessee coach Ken Whisenhunt complimented the crowd: "The noise element makes it tough. ... The fans were loud and that made it difficult for us. That's the home field advantage."

9. Tennessee had two delay of game penalties because players couldn't hear the snap calls. The Titans were flagged nine times for 85 yards compared to four for 40 yards for the Browns. "We control the volume and our fans did a great job," said Pettine. "At the end of the game, they were really outstanding."

10. The Browns have scored five touchdowns this season, and four belong to Travis Benjamin. Who expected that?

11. Manziel delivered only two TDs in his first 26 pro possessions heading into this game. Sunday, he had two in the opening quarter. That put everyone in the stands and in an orange helmet in a very confident mood. That's exactly what the Browns needed.

12. Manziel showed very good arm strength on two long throws to Benjamin. He said his arm has been feeling much better, and it showed.

13. Manziel did fumble twice. The first was on the Cleveland 31, the other was on the Cleveland 30. The Browns recovered both times. Had the Titans come up with those balls, it's a much tougher game for the Browns.

14. In his two games, Manziel has fumbled four times. The Jets recovered both in the opener. So that's his next challenge, hanging on to the ball. In my weekend notes, I researched how many fumbles he had in college. It was only five in 25 Texas A&M games. That's not many because he carried the ball 345 times.

15. No matter who Pettine picks to play quarterback next week against Oakland, it was so important that Manziel play well and win this game. He needs to win the confidence of his teammates, who had seen him mostly struggle. Now, he's led them to a victory, producing a big touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Johnny Manziel made an assortment of winning plays to help the Cleveland Browns defeat the Tennessee Titans, 28-14, Sunday in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Johnny Manziel made all of the dropbacks for the Cleveland Browns in a 28-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. Manziel went 8-of-15 for 172 yards and two touchdowns,  scrambled once for 2 yards and was sacked twice. Both sacks resulted in fumbles recovered by the Browns.

Here is a capsule look at Manziel's performance:

Streak busted: The Browns (1-1) snapped a six-game losing skid dating to last season.

On the board: Manziel secured his first career NFL victory as a starter.

Team victory: The Browns' offense, defense and special teams played significant roles in the outcome.

*The offense was balanced -- 158 net passing yards and 116 rushing yards (on 30 carries).

*The defense harassed Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota for much of the game and finished with seven sacks. It recovered three fumbles.

*The special teams amassed 185 yards, including 154 and one touchdown on six punt returns by Travis Benjamin. And punter Andy Lee was his usual self.

Quality work: No question Manziel received plenty of help, led by Benjamin and his 269 total yards and three touchdowns. Manziel was not asked to carry his team. Regardless, Manziel deserves credit for a superb performance because he proved to be an important part of the victory.

Manziel made mistakes, but he more than compensated with several ginormous plays and other solid-to-good ones. He combined tangibles with intangibles, the result being a grade of A-. He would have earned an A if not for the two fumbles, which the Browns were fortunate to recover in Cleveland territory.

Money balls: Four dropbacks told the story of Manziel against the Titans.

1. 60-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin early in the first quarter.

The Browns opened their first possession with a 2-yard run by Isaiah Crowell. On 2nd-and-8 at the Cleveland 38, Manziel, from under center, play-faked to Crowell. Manziel dropped back to the Cleveland 31, planted and released from the 33. The pass featured the high trajectory necessary to allow Benjamin to make a play on it while being covered by Coty Sensabaugh. Benjamin caught the ball with his fingers on the right hash at the Tennessee 14.

Manziel threw a strike from the pocket, and he did so under some duress. Titans defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, coming from Manziel's right, pulled him down after release.

Benjamin, lined up on the right, cleanly beat attempted press coverage by Sensabaugh and broke free on a skinny post.

In Week 1, Sensabaugh, subbing for injured Jason McCourty, intercepted Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston's first career pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. The Titans won, 42-14.

Sensabaugh's highlight play did not deter the Browns from game-planning against him, as revealed by CBS analyst Adam Archuleta, who said: "Coming into this game, (the Browns) felt that if they saw that matchup, with Sensabaugh in press coverage, they were going to take advantage of it.''

Manziel and Benjamin were helped by the decisions of both Titans safeties. Da'Norris Searcy, on the Browns' left, ended up doubling receiver Brian Hartline. Michael Griffin, on the Browns' right, bit on the play-fake.

The importance of the pass can't be overstated. It gave the Browns immediate breathing room and helped them erase the sour taste of Week 1, when they were handled by the Jets, 31-10, on the road. It also forced Mariota, coming off a monster performance against the Buccaneers, to play catch-up on the road.

2. 17-yard completion to tight end Gary Barnidge midway through the first quarter.

The Browns had recovered a Terrance West fumble and, later in the possession, were first-and-10 at the Tennessee 28. Manziel shifted personnel before the snap; among the moves was Barnidge from right to left. With Manziel in the shotgun, the Titans showed six.

In a classic Dick LeBeau zone blitz, four of the Titans dropped into coverage -- but they became moot points because Manziel opted for a hot read. He threw to an open Barnidge, who had flared outside the numbers. Barnidge rumbled to the 11.

This play was all about Manziel's ability to process the game mentally.

Archuleta said: "You like the recognition from Johnny Manziel. He identifies where the pressure is and hits the right target.''                 

Moments later, Crowell rushed for an 11-yard TD to give the Browns a 14-0 lead with 6:26 remaining in the quarter. (Credit right tackle Mitchell Schwartz for a seal block on linebacker Zach Brown at the 9; and Crowell for popping to the right and gaining yards after contact beginning at the 5.)

3. 16-yard completion to receiver Andrew Hawkins early in the third quarter.

The Browns began the second half with possession and a 21-0 lead. On third-and-12 from the Cleveland 18, Manziel set up in the shotgun against a four-man rush. Manziel adeptly avoided pressure from both sides, shuffled along the Cleveland 10 and threw on the move to an open Hawkins at the 30. Hawkins advanced to the 34.

Manziel displayed expert pocket awareness and didn't settle for simply avoiding the sack, or tucking and running. He kept the head up and the eyes downfield.

Archuleta said: "I think this is terrific. Tennessee running a twist game, bringing Brian Orakpo up inside, trying to get hands in Johnny Manziel's face. That's a perfectly thrown ball -- drifting to his right, keeping his eyes downfield. He identifies Hawkins coming over the middle and delivers an accurate pass.''

The play did not lead to points, but it did enable to Browns to avoid punting from deep in their own end. When the punt eventually did occur, from the Cleveland 37,  Lee pinned the Titans at their 10.

4. 50-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin late in the fourth quarter.

The Browns led, 21-14, but the Titans were closing fast. On third-and-6 from the 50, Manziel received the shotgun snap. The Titans showed five at the line, then added two late and brought all seven. The Browns picked up six, but linebacker Orakpo was untouched coming from the edge on Manziel's left. (Derrick Morgan also was gaining ground on a bull-rush of Schwartz.)

Manziel spun away from Orakpo and Morgan, rolled to his left, planted at the Cleveland 40 and unloaded from outside the numbers with Orakpo at arm's length. Benjamin, who beat corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson from the right, caught the pass in-stride at the 8 and scored with 2:52 remaining.

Ball game.

Manziel made a play that some of the better quarterbacks in the NFL might not have made, if only because they wouldn't have been able to avoid the sack.

Archuleta said: "Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M....Brian Orakpo clean off the edge. Manziel feels the pressure and spins out of it. And instead of Mike Evans, who does he go to? No. 11 Travis Benjamin. This is vintage Johnny Football. What a beautiful pass.''

Huge props to Benjamin, who had been lined up wide right. Benjamin cleanly beat Wreh-Wilson's attempt at press coverage and ran a go-route down the sideline. But when Benjamin saw Manziel scramble to the left, Benjamin adjusted his route and sprinted across the field. Unfortunately for Wreh-Wilson, Tennessee's single-high safety, Searcy, did not account for Benjamin's improvisation. Searcy drifted forward as he watched Manziel, enabling Benjamin to get behind him.

One by one: Here is Manziel's pass-by-pass breakdown:

FIRST QUARTER

First series (scoreless game)

Dropback No 1. 2nd-and-8 @ CB 40

2 receivers, under center

4 rushers at time of pass, medium pressure

Result: Completion to Benjamin for 60-yard TD (46 in air, 14 YAC).

Skinny: Manziel play-faked to running back Crowell and threw to Benjamin, who adjusted to ball flight while covered by Sensabaugh.

Second series (Browns lead, 7-0.)

No. 2. 1st-and-10 @ 50

Empty backfield, shotgun

4 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Completion to Benjamin for 5 yards (5 in air, 0 YAC) on right sideline.

Skinny: Benjamin exploited soft coverage.

No. 3. 1st-and-10 @ TEN 40

2 receivers, shotgun

4 RTOP, medium pressure

Result: Completion to Hawkins on right side for 18 yards (17 in air, 1 YAC).

Skinny: Manziel scrambled to right, kept eyes downfield, found an open Hawkins in front of Sensabaugh.

No. 4. 1st-and-10 @ TEN 28

Empty backfield, shotgun

2 RTOP, no pressure

Result: Completion to Barnidge on left side for 17 yards (2 in air, 15 YAC)

Skinny: Titans zone blitz (showed six) left Barnidge wide-open. Excellent recognition by Manziel.

Third series (Browns lead, 14-0.)

No. 5. 1st-and-10 @ TEN 48

1 receiver, under center

4 RTOP, light pressure

Result: Scramble for 2 yards.

Skinny: Manziel rolled right after boot action, looked downfield, didn't force.

No. 6. 3rd-and-7 @ TEN 45

3 receivers, shotgun

5 RTOP, no pressure

Result: Incompletion (Hartline) on right side @ TEN 35.

Skinny: Throw on target, but Wreh-Wilson PBU.

SECOND QUARTER

Fourth series (Browns lead, 14-0.)

No. 7. 1st-and-10 @ CB 42

3 receivers, shotgun

5 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Completion to receiver Taylor Gabriel on left side for -3 yards (-5 in air, 2 YAC).

Skinny: Gabriel tried hard to make something out of nothing on quick screen.

No. 8. 2nd-and-13 @ CB 39

1 receiver, under center

4 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Incompletion (Hawkins) @ TEN 10.

Skinny: Manziel stepped up in pocket and threw to Hawkins, who was double-covered. Corner Perrish Cox PBU.

No. 9. 3rd-and-13 @ CB 39

3 receivers, shotgun

5 RTOP, medium pressure

Result: Incompletion (Hartline) left sideline @ TEN 47.

Skinny: Essentially a throwaway; Hartline covered by Sensabaugh.

Fifth series (Browns lead, 14-0.)

No. 10. First-and-10 @ TEN 40

3 receivers, shotgun

4 RTOP, no pressure

Result: Completion to Hawkins on right side for 9 yards (-1 in air, 10 YAC).

Skinny: Manziel caught snap, immediately threw sidearm.

Sixth series (Browns lead, 14-0.)

No. 11. 2nd-and-6 @ CB 41

1 receiver, under center

5 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Incompletion (Malcolm Johnson) on left side behind line of scrimmage.

Skinny: Orakpo read boot action, forced errant jump-throw.

No. 12. 3rd-and-6 @ CB 41

3 receivers, shotgun

6 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Incompletion (Benjamin) on right side @ TEN 45.

Skinny: Manziel made hot read but Benjamin not ready.

SUMMARY AT HALF: 6 of 11 for 106 yards and one TD; one scramble for 2 yards.

THIRD QUARTER

Seventh series (Browns lead, 21-0.)

No. 13. 3rd-and-12 @ CB 18

3 receivers, shotgun

4 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Completion to Hawkins for 16 yards (12 in air, 4 YAC).

Skinny: Manziel sidestepped pressure from right, slid right and threw on target to open Hawkins.

No. 14. 3rd-and-7 @ CB 37

3 receivers, shotgun

6 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Incompletion (throwaway in direction of Hartline).

Skinny: Manziel avoided Sensabaugh sack.

Eighth series (Browns lead, 21-0.)

No. 15. 2nd-and-10 @ CB 31

2 receivers, under center

4 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Incompletion (Dwayne Bowe) over middle @ CB 45.

Skinny: Manziel led Bowe too far in tight coverage.

No. 16. 3rd-and-10 @ CB 31

3 receivers, shotgun

5 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Strip-sack by linebacker Wesley Woodyard, Schwartz recovers.

Skinny: Manziel needed to be more aware of his surroundings.

Ninth series (Browns lead, 21-7.)

No. 17. 3rd-and-5 @ CB 30

3 receivers, shotgun

6 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Strip-sack by Morgan, Duke Johnson recovers.

Skinny: Manziel skittish in pocket.

FOURTH QUARTER

Tenth series (Browns lead, 21-14.)

No. 18. 3rd-and-6 @ 50

3 receivers, shotgun

7 RTOP, heavy pressure

Result: Completion to Benjamin for 50-yard touchdown (42 in air, 8 YAC).

Skinny: Fabulous play by Manziel, who escaped pressure, rolled left and threw strike to Benjamin.

GAME SUMMARY: 8 of 15 for 172 yards, 2 TDs; 1 scramble for 2 yards; 2 sacks.