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CLEVELAND — This city began Sunday shrouded in fog and brimming with expectation. Ever since Browns
Coach Mike Pettine had announced a change at quarterback, the wait had
been excruciating, the five days passing like a kidney stone.
Four
hours before kickoff, fans streamed into the parking lots ringing
FirstEnergy Stadium, arriving early to immerse themselves in the
communal experience of preparing for the unknown.
They
came to watch their beloved Browns engage in that phenomenon alien to
northeast Ohio, meaningful mid-December football. They also came to
watch an elusive, unconventional, reckless, exuberant and wholly
unpredictable rookie who might — or might not — yet be their savior at
quarterback.
They came for Johnny Manziel.
So did the Cincinnati Bengals,
who contained him in the pocket, turned his confidence into indecision
and celebrated sacks and pass deflections by mocking him, making the
symbol for money that Manziel uses in his touchdown celebrations. They
rubbed their fingers together so often that they might have worn holes
in their gloves.
