Johnny Manziel flips the bird at opposing players’ bench

 

 

Johnny Manziel, the Cleveland Browns’ second-string quarterback, has largely stopped making headlines for his off-the-field antics since the Browns began their summer training camp.

That doesn’t mean he won’t make them for his on-field conduct, though.

On Monday night, during a preseason game against Washington, Manziel took out frustration over his poor play on the opponents’ bench, flipping it an over-the-shoulder middle finger en route to a 24-23 loss.

The finger came after a play in which Manziel was nearly sacked for what would have been the third time in the game.

He eluded the pass rush, fired an incompletion out of bounds, and then, in response to what he claimed was heckling from the Washington team and the fans in the stands, shot the bird without turning around.

Manziel completed seven of sixteen passes for 65 yards and one touchdown in the loss. He also took three sacks.

 

The Mystery of the Rolled Twenty remains unsolved.

The quarterback’s response to his performance? “I don’t think I did a very good job [Monday night].”

In defense of himself, he added, “I get words and screams throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week.”

Third-string quarterback Connor Shaw fared better than any other Cleveland QB, completing all but one of his passes and keeping the Browns alive with a 4th quarter touchdown pass.

And Shaw managed to keep his hands to himself in the process.