Dec 13, 2015 7 min read

Sitting on the sideline, Johnny Manziel was angry and frustrated.

More importantly for the Browns, he held himself accountable.

Upset for throwing an interception late in the first half, Manziel vented by bashing a tablet on his head before recovering to throw a touchdown pass in the second half and leading Cleveland to a 24-10 win on Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers, ending the Browns’ seven-game losing streak.

“I probably overreacted a little bit,” Manziel said of his outburst.

Johnny Football finally accepted some blame.

Manziel passed for 270 yards, delivering a quality performance he and the Browns (3-10) desperately needed. He tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Gary Barnidge in the third quarter as Cleveland won for the first time since Oct. 11 and took some pressure off coach Mike Pettine.

Isaiah Crowell rushed for 145 yards and had two short TD runs for Cleveland, which won its first game in December since 2012.

The inept 49ers (4-9) allowed nine sacks and managed just 127 yards on offense before a 94-yard drive in garbage time.

“Maybe we did take them a little light,” said Niners linebacker Ahmad Brooks. “We got the win last week and maybe we got a little big headed.”

Manziel was back on the field after being benched two games by Pettine for partying during Cleveland’s bye week after he had promised not to be a distraction. The 23-year-old was thankful to get a second chance and made the most of it while giving the Browns hope he may still blossom into a franchise QB.

Manziel overcame his one glaring mistake, accurately found wide-open receivers and looked more like an NFL starter that at any point in his two seasons as a pro.

“I’ve only gotten to play six or seven games,” said Manziel, who went 21 for 31. “The number is starting to climb but for me, these mean a lot to me. I still have a lot to prove. I feel like I’m just getting started.”

Making his first start since throwing for a career-high 372 yards Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh, Manziel was sharp in the first half with the exception of one bone-headed play.

With the Browns near midfield, Manziel was forced from the pocket and scrambled near the Browns sideline. But instead of running out of bounds or throwing the ball away, Manziel forced a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Niners safety Jaquiski Tartt, who returned it 25 yards.

Manziel stormed off the field and slammed his helmet to the ground. He took a seat, and when he reviewed the play on one of the sideline tablets, he saw that Barnidge had come open on the play. That’s when he had his temper tantrum.

“I probably shouldn’t have overreacted the way I did, but it’s the NFL and when those chances are there, you’ve got to make the most of them,” he said.

Seattle 35, Baltimore 6: Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Doug Baldwin, and the Seattle Seahawks wore down the injury-depleted Baltimore Ravens 35-6 for their fourth straight victory.

Wilson went 23 for 32 for 292 yards. The five TD throws matched a career high set earlier this season against Pittsburgh and gave him 16 over his last four games.

Baldwin scored on passes of 14, 22 and 16 yards. Tyler Lockett caught TD throws of 8 and 49 yards.

Seattle’s second-ranked defense backed Wilson by keeping the Ravens (4-9) out of the end zone, forcing two turnovers and allowing only 28 yards rushing.

The Seahawks (8-5) have won six of seven to move into position for an NFC wild card.

Carolina 38, Atlanta 0: Cam Newton added to his MVP resume, completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns, and the unbeaten Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 to clinch a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs.

Newton connected on scoring strikes of 74 and 46 yards to Ted Ginn Jr., and Jonathan Stewart ran for a touchdown as the Panthers (13-0) scored on their first three possessions.

Jacksonville 51, Indianapolis 16: Blake Bortles threw for three touchdowns and ran for a score all in the second half and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat Indianapolis 51-16 and ended the Colts’ 16-game winning streak in the AFC South.

The Jaguars (5-8) scored on offense, defense and special teams in the same game for the first time since 2011, the franchise’s most complete game under third-year coach Gus Bradley.

Kansas City 10, San Diegoo 3: The Kansas City Chiefs kept the San Diego Chargers out of the end zone twice in the final seconds, preserving a 10-3 victory and their seventh consecutive win.

Alex Smith threw for 191 yards and a touchdown, along with his first interception after a franchise-record 312 attempts. But it was a banged-up defense that held San Diego without a touchdown for the second time this season that allowed the Chiefs (8-5) to escape.

Philadelphia 23, Buffalo 20: Caleb Sturgis kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:26 left, Ed Reynolds intercepted Tyrod Taylor’s pass in the final minutes and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills 23-20.

LeSean McCoy had 74 yards rushing and 35 receiving in his return to Philadelphia. He kissed the Eagles logo at midfield before the coin toss, but ran off the field immediately after the game.

N.Y. Jets 30, Tennessee 8: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes and New York’s stingy defense stifled Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans’ offense for most of the game as the Jets cruised to a 30-8 victory.

Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Bilal Powell each caught TD passes for the Jets (8-5), who stayed on track in the AFC playoff race with their first three-game winning streak since 2011.

New Orleans 24, Tampa Bay 17: Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes to Marques Colston and the New Orleans Saints stopped a four-game losing streak with a 24-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brees completed 31 of 41 passes for 312 yards without an interception. Colston scored on receptions of 1 and 3 yards in the first half, and Tim Hightower added a 3-yard TD run in the third quarter for the Saints (5-8).

Washington 24, Chicago 21: Kirk Cousins threw for 300 yards and a touchdown and the Washington Redskins hung on to beat the Bears 24-21 after Chicago’s Robbie Gould missed yet another late field goal.

Washington, which came in tied with Philadelphia and the Giants for the NFC East lead, went ahead early in the fourth quarter on Dustin Hopkins’ 47-yard field goal. The Redskins (6-7) hung on to break a nine-game road losing streak dating to last season.

St. Louis 21, Detroit 7: Todd Gurley ran for 140 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and the St. Louis Rams ended a five-game losing streak with a 21-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Trumaine Johnson’s 58-yard interception return for St. Louis (5-8) was the only score in the first half, plus he did most of the work holding Calvin Johnson to a late 16-yard catch. Aaron Donald had three sacks of Matthew Stafford to further boost a defense that had sagged in recent weeks.

Green Bay 28, Dallas 7: Eddie Lacy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, fellow running back James Starks added two scores and the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-7.

The Packers (9-4) have a one-game lead in the NFC North over Minnesota after their second straight victory.

Oakland 15, Denver 12: Khalil Mack had five sacks of Brock Osweiler, including one in the end zone for a safety, and Derek Carr bounced back from an awful first half to lead the Oakland Raiders past the Denver Broncos 15-12.

Carr threw two touchdown passes and the Raiders (6-7) beat the Broncos for the first time since Sept. 12, 2011, despite being held to minus-12 yards in the first half in the worst performance by a team heading into halftime in nearly a quarter-century.