Quarterback Brian Hoyer played his worst game as a Cleveland Brown on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing a career-low 39% of his attempts (16 of 41) for 215 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In the wake of the 24-6 upset loss, the team and head coach Mike Pettine have been adamant that Hoyer will remain in the starting role.
"Brian is still firmly our starter,'' Pettine told the Plain Dealer. "Nothing's changed. Each week we make the decision as to if we want to include Johnny in the plan.''
Word has emerged though from Cabot that at some point during the game, Pettine "briefly" considered turning to backup and heir apparent, Johnny Manziel.
"It was discussed briefly, but it was a situation where we still wanted to...at least try to end the game with Brian on a positive note,'' he said.
But Pettine wouldn't rule out including Manziel in the game planning for this weekend's matchup against the 0-6 Oakland Raiders.
"Each week when the offensive staff gets together -- and I'll jump in with them too -- is that they put the plan together, and it's what gives us the best chance to win,'' said Pettine. "So if the situation this week maybe calls for him to play some then that will be the case. But we're not going to hit the panic button after one loss. While we know that the quarterback position needed to be more productive, it was more symptomatic of the entire offense.''
The Browns are still in good shape at 6-3 and a single game a quarterback does not make. But Hoyer did perform poorly, and fell from the 8th rated quarterback overall to 22nd, dropping his completion percentage over the last two games to 41.3%.
The calls from the stands for Manziel have not yet started, and Pettine doesn't sound like a coach ready to make a swtich.
"Sometimes they're up and we never call them, and then there's been some weeks where we haven't had it,'' said Pettine. "It's all based on the plan.''
Cabot, for one, believes the Browns will have a package of plays specifically for Manziel ready to go as part of the plan this weekend.
