Report: Johnny Manziel to start vs. Bengals

The Cleveland Browns are making a switch at quarterback, as Johnny Manziel is expected to be named the starter for Week 15's meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that the team was preparing for the Browns to be starting Brian Hoyer at QB, but then again, can we believe a word Marv says to the media that could have just been some gamesmanship by him.

This will be Manziel's first NFL start, if he does indeed get the nod in a game between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. Originally selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft by Cleveland, Manziel was viewed as the Browns' long-term quarterback solution.

Brian Hoyer was named the team's starting quarterback to start the season and helped keep the team relevant in the highly competitive AFC North. However, that's not been the case over the past month, as Hoyer has struggled mightily as Cleveland has gone 1-3 in their past four games.

After Hoyer threw three picks against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13, Pettine benched the veteran in favor of Manziel with Cleveland trailing 20-3 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Manziel led Cleveland on its only touchdown drive after he scored on a 10-yard run to cut Buffalo's lead to 10 points.

Buffalo would go on to win 26-10 after stopping Manziel and the Browns offense twice to end the game. He completed five of eight passes for 63 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards.

In the end, Hoyer was named the starter for the team's Week 14 game vs. the Colts, which Cleveland went on to lose.