Why Oakland Raiders Face Easier Matchup with Josh McCown Starting at Quarterback

The Oakland Raiders should send Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine a gift basket for his decision to start Josh McCown over Johnny Manziel at quarterback.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, Pettine officially declared McCown as the starter against the Raiders in Week 3. Manziel earned his first victory as a starter in Week 2, which equals McCown's win total in his last 11 starts.

Manziel didn’t light up the field in victory, but his play style presents greater difficulties for the Raiders defense in comparison to McCown.

Matchup with McCown

Brad Penner/Associated Press/Associated Press

There’s more than just conventional logic that makes Pettine’s decision questionable. The 35-year-old journeyman quarterback turns the ball over at an alarming rate.

McCown ranks ninth in terms of total interceptions thrown between Week 1 of the 2014 season and Week 2 of the 2015 season.

Player	Attemps	Interceptions	Completion %
Jay Cutler	561	18	65
Philip Rivers	570	18	66
Blake Bortles	475	17	58
Drew Brees	659	17	69
Andy Dalton	481	17	64
Andrew Luck	616	16	61
Peyton Manning	597	15	66
Eli Manning	601	14	63
Josh McCown	327	14	56

As noted above, McCown has thrown fewer passes than the eight quarterbacks with higher interception totals and he played in a beneficial situation with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014. He had two big targets at wide receiver, Vincent Jackson (6’5”, 230 pounds) and Mike Evans (6’5”, 231 pounds) but recorded 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Now, he enters a situation with one explosive weapon on the outside in Travis Benjamin, who built a rapport with Manziel over the past two weeks.

The 13-year veteran left Week 1 with a concussion after throwing eight passes. He hasn’t developed an in-game chemistry with any of his receivers. Expect a lack of continuity in the Browns passing game for at least the first quarter as McCown familiarizes himself with the offense.

Matchup with Manziel

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Here’s a look at one of Manziel’s touchdown passes against the Tennessee Titans in his last outing with analysis from Nathan Zegura:

Right away, two things about Manziel’s touchdown pass should jump out at you as particular strengths over the Raiders defense.

Oakland hasn’t recorded a sack in the first two games of the season. Even with pressure, Manziel can escape the pocket and make plays. McCown doesn’t give the Browns the same capability to extend a play and evade pass-rushers Khalil Mack, Aldon Smith and Justin Tuck.

Secondly, Manziel launches the pass down the field, which challenges the safety covering deep.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Right now, the Raiders have a depleted unit at safety. Charles Woodson continues to play with a dislocated shoulder, and they’re missing their ball hawk in Nate Allen. Both Taylor Mays and Larry Asante have struggled in coverage per Pro Football Focus.

Manziel’s deep accuracy in the above example isn’t a fluke. He’s completed three of four passes when throwing the ball 20 or more yards down the field—all three completions resulted in touchdowns.

Manziel’s scrambling tendencies force the Raiders defensive backs to cover for a longer period of time, which makes them susceptible to long completions. Benjamin’s ability to run behind the coverage provides an outlet for the second-year quarterback, which reminiscent of Manziel's days at Texas A&M.

Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images

Pettine didn’t make a decision between a subpar quarterback and an Aaron Rodgers-type signal-caller. However, he gave the reins over to a quarterback who hasn’t won a football game since Week 11 of 2014 and struggled with viable wide receivers on the outside.

One could argue that McCown could’ve been out of a job without a 3-2 run with the Chicago Bears in 2013, but it's hard to argue that he’s the better quarterback in this matchup against the Raiders.

Cleveland must survive on running the ball until McCown finds his groove within the offense. The Raiders pass rush hasn’t produced many results, but the Browns will place a sitting duck behind the offensive line instead of a moving target.

Offensive tackle Joe Thomas posts a stellar resume as an eight-time Pro Bowler, but he cannot protect both sides of the offensive line.

If the Raiders find a breakthrough in their pass rush, the Browns don’t stand a chance in counteracting Mack, Smith or Tuck unless they revert back to Manziel.

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All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted. 

Week 2 statistics and play-by-play analysis provided by NFL.com.