The Cleveland Browns play their second preseason game at 8 p.m. ET Thursday against the Buffalo Bills at First Energy Stadium. Here are a couple things to watch for during the game:
Why watch: This is an important game for the quarterbacks. Josh McCown’s progression toward starting the opener continues and can be derailed only by a really bad performance from McCown combined with a special one from Johnny Manziel. McCown has hold of the job and if he plays reasonably well or better, the conversation about who starts the season opener against the Jets won’t change. Manziel was given good marks by the coaches following his performance in the first preseason game. If he can build on that, he will continue his progress from a disastrous rookie season. Manziel might not be able to earn the starting job out of camp, but he can leave camp with a much better feeling than he did last season.
Did you know: It doesn’t seem that the Browns and Bills did themselves tremendous favors with their two days of work in Buffalo. During the practices, the Bills lost linebacker Ty Powell for the season with a torn ACL and running LeSean McCoy probably for the rest of the preseason with a pulled hamstring. The Browns lost cornerback Justin Gilbert to a hip flexor pull and receiver Terrelle Pryor when he aggravated a hamstring that had previously sidelined him. The injuries add to a lengthy list of injured players for both teams and means several “name” players will not be on the field Thursday night.
