Is It Finally Time for the Johnny Manziel Era to Begin in Cleveland?

Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Brian Hoyer might be in serious jeopardy of losing his job following a 26-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.

The worst part—seven of those 10 points scored by the Browns came on the feet of versatile backup Johnny “Football” Manziel, who relieved Hoyer in the fourth quarter following his second interception of the game.

In Manziel's first extended series of the season, the former Texas A&M legend led the team on an 80-yard drive, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run. As a result, Browns coach Mike Pettine now has a bit of a quarterback controversy on his hands. Will he go with the slightly more experienced Hoyer, who was a part of the 7-5 team's success, or will he go with the rookie Manziel?

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QB update: Browns coach Mike Pettine will watch tape before deciding Hoyer or Manziel, Redskins coach Jay Gruden says it’s still Colt McCoy

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 30, 2014"

As NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted, Browns coach Mike Pettine will make the decision concerning who starts in Week 14 after watching tape this week, thus declining to name Hoyer the starter for the first time this season. It appears as if signs are pointing to Manziel getting the nod for Cleveland, who is still in the hunt to gain an AFC playoff spot.

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I asked Pettine if Johnny's ready to start. He told me, "He's been ready to play all year." My column: http://t.co/kRaJcCuXB2

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 1, 2014"

As I wrote here last week (to the surprising ire of many Browns fans), Hoyer should be replaced by Manziel for a few important reasons. Manziel is a dual threat, while Hoyer is one-dimensional. Also, simply put, Hoyer has not performed like an NFL starting quarterback as of late.

These points were displayed on Sunday, as Manziel also dispelled any notion that he cannot perform at the NFL level in a regular season game.

Against a strong Buffalo Bills defense in Week 13, Hoyer went 18-of-30 through the air for 192 yards, didn’t throw a touchdown, and was picked off two times. Pettine decided to switch things up in the fourth quarter as his team was down 20-3 following Hoyer’s second interception of the game, when he subbed in Manziel.

The rookie marched the Browns down the field on an 80-yard touchdown drive, going 5-of-8 passing for 63 yards and also carrying the ball twice for 13 yards, where he reached pay dirt on a 10-yard rush.

By the way, this performance came on the opposite side of the first-team Bills defense, one of the best defenses in the entire NFL.

There was a considerable amount of positive hype in Cleveland supporting Hoyer this season despite drafting the polarizing Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. Many claimed his valuable time serving as the backup to Tom Brady as a member the New England Patriots would result in Hoyer putting up Brady-esque numbers. But, unfortunately for him, he hasn’t lived up to that billing—and perhaps never will get the opportunity again.

As I noted in my previous article on the Hoyer debacle, this Browns team has won games in spite of his play—not because of it.

In fact, he has had just two multi-touchdown games in 12 starts this season. Despite sporting an 11-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Hoyer has been abysmal over his past four starts, throwing just one touchdown to six interceptions over that span.

In the past two games in which star wide receiver Josh Gordon has played in (after being reinstated from an overturned season-long suspension), Hoyer has not been able to find the end zone and has thrown five interceptions, even with an elite target.

Manziel found the end zone three minutes and 14 seconds after taking his first snap in Week 13 against the Bills.

On the season, Hoyer has completed just 56.2 percent of his passes, which is dead-last among quarterbacks who have started every game. To put that into perspective, Geno Smith has connected on 57.6 percent of his passes while under center for the Jets this year. 

The time is now for the Johnny Football era to begin in Cleveland. Now the question becomes whether Pettine will take the leap of faith for this 7-5 squad which represents a city thirsting for success.

Cleveland fans better hope and pray a switch is made before it's too late. 

Dan Karpuc is Tradesports.com’s Director of Content, TradesportsInsider.com’s Editor, and frequently contributes to The Huffington Post.