The Cleveland Browns did not exactly get the performance out of Josh McCown they were hoping for in Week 3. The quarterback returned as the starter following concussion issues and lost to the Oakland Raiders 27-20 although the game was never really that close. In the loss, McCown suffered yet another injury, hurting his hand which has now put his Week 4 status in jeopardy.
According to ESPN's Pat McManamon, X-rays on McCown's hand came back negative, but the quarterback's status is unknown right now. The quarterback hit his hand on a helmet at some point during the game and admitted that it was bothering him when he threw an interception originally intended for Travis Benajmin. McCown would only barely address the injury to the media following the game, but stressed that he felt fine.
"I don't want to speak on it," McCown said, via ESPN.com. "I'll let coach [Mike Pettine] speak on it, but I feel good."
Considering Drew Brees said he felt fine following negative X-rays on a shoulder injury, but then had to sit out Week 3, anything is possible with McCown. The quarterback struggled in the game against the Raiders who displayed a very physical front seven that dominated the line of scrimmage. McCown finised the day going 28-of-49 for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked five times while tossing one interception and recording a fumble. He struggled with the deep ball while shorter throws were into the ground. Would Johnny Manziel have played better? There is no way of telling, but the quarterback has a chance to jump back into the game now.
Head coach Mike Pettine has stuck with McCown regardless of struggles and issues. That could easily be the same in Week 4. Manziel certainly made his mistakes too in the starting job and it is not like either quarterback got much help from their surrounding cast, so they cannot shoulder all of the blame. However, now there are bullet points for the conversation. If the Browns are going to excel regardless of the who is under center, the run game must step up. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson acquired just 39 yards on the day. Robert Turbin is set to return which could help the team. Benjamin and Brian Hartline led the receiving unit, but were not enough to get things done.
