The Sports Xchange

Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine refused to “stir up” a quarterback controversy after Josh McCown threw two interceptions and Johnny Manziel excited the crowd with 96-yard touchdown drive in Thursday night’s preseason game.

After the 11-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium, Pettine reiterated that McCown was firmly the starter.

“I’m not going to sit here and talk about trying to stir up a quarterback controversy,” Pettine said the game. “Josh is firmly the one.”

McCown, who went 7 of 10 for 57 yards, was sacked three times in his three drives, and left the game with a sore right ring finger that required X-rays after the game. The X-rays were negative and McCown said he felt fine.

Pettine pointed out that Manziel worked against the Bills’ second- and third-team defenders.

“We’d say it’s possible (for Manziel to close the gap), but I think most teams, that’s a pretty good drop off from any starting unit, down to the twos,” Pettine said. “There’s a lot of twos with the starters, as well, so there’s an even bigger drop-off to what (Manziel was) playing against. It gets factored in, but we’ll see. We’ll evaluate both guys.”

Manziel completed 10 of 18 for 118 yards with one TD and no interceptions. He ignited the crowd with his 11-play, TD drive, capped by a 21-yard strike off a play-fake to wide receiver Shane Wynn. Manziel was sacked once and rushed three times for 19 yards.

“I’m still going out trying to play my best and make an impression,” Manziel said. “That’s what I want to do. I want to have these guys go into the film tomorrow and turn on the tape and say, ‘This guy’s really doing things right and this guys really fighting hard to pick things up and make some plays.’ That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to make an impression and leave a little bit of a lasting memory coming off these games. I wish we would have finished that out the right way, but still despite that, good things were done.”

—Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a concussion in Thursday night’s preseason game and the timetable for his return was unknown.

Griffin, under constant pressure by the Detroit Lions’ defense after almost every pass play, left the game in the second quarter of the Redskins’ 21-17 victory. He suffered a stinger in his shoulder as well, but apparently that injury was not a concern.

“We’ll have to see,” head coach Jay Gruden said after the win when asked how much time Griffin would miss and whether he would be available next Saturday night for the third preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. “I would imagine, depending on how long he is out, he is still going to be our starter. We have to wait and go through the whole process and see how he recovers; see how fast he recovers. I have no idea as far as the third preseason game, fourth one, right now.”

A Redskins executive told ESPN’s Britt McHenry on Friday that Griffin “is fine” and the timetable for his return is “right now, next Saturday for our game, but (we) still need to make sure he is right.”

The NFL’s concussion protocol, which Griffin is in, does not specify a time frame for a player’s return. The fourth-year quarterback will be reassessed and must be approved to return by an independent neurologist.

RGIII reached out on Twitter on Friday: “Thankful for all the prayers and well wishes from everybody. Appreciate y’all. #GodsGotIt.”

Griffin was sacked three times and fumbled twice, losing one. He completed 2 or 5 passes for eight yards. He was hit on six pass attempts, including on quick drops on which he threw quickly.

—Redskins special teams player and linebacker Adam Hayward suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason game against the Lions, according to multiple reports.

Hayward, the Redskins’ special teams captain last season, tore his right ACL.

—Rookie running back Melvin Gordon is not expected to play in the San Diego Chargers’ preseason game in Arizona on Saturday.

Gordon, the Chargers’ first-round pick, has a minor ankle injury that forced him to sit out a practice this week. After rushing six times for 11 yards in the preseason opener vs. the Dallas Cowboys, Gordon said he needed to be more “decisive” in his running.

Also expected to sit out vs. the Cardinals on Saturday are cornerback Jason Verrett, rookie linebacker Denzel Perryman and cornerback Stevie Williams, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

—Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews has often played through injuries during his career. Of course, rarely do injured players participate in a preseason game, so it’s possible Matthews will find himself on the sideline Sunday when the Packers travel to Pittsburgh.

Matthews was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday because of elbow soreness. The Packers didn’t practice Friday, so it’s uncertain whether Matthews will be cleared to play Sunday. He didn’t play in the first preseason game at New England last week because of knee soreness.

—Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Marcus Smith is expected to miss two to three weeks with a hamstring strain.

Smith, the team’s first-round draft pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, injured his right hamstring in Thursday’s practice but hopes to be back for the season opener.

An MRI on Friday morning confirmed that Smith’s hamstring was strained.

“It’s not as bad as I thought it was,” Smith said Friday. “Three weeks is probably the most. I’ll definitely be ready for the Falcons game. I’ll try to be back for the last preseason game.”

—Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Senquez Golson, the team’s second-round draft pick, underwent shoulder surgery Friday and was placed on the physically unable to perform list where he may spend the rest of the season.

The former Mississippi star arrived at camp with the injury, but hoped it would get better. Coach Mike Tomlin would not say whether Golson would be a candidate to return at some point during the season.

—In this week’s joint practices, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took all of the first-team snaps and backup Jimmy Garoppolo none, all of which means absolutely nothing regarding who will start Saturday night at New Orleans.

Brady put on a clinic in Thursday’s second practice against the Saints. He connected on 16 of 18 passes in the 11-on-11 drill, with one drop by tight end Rob Gronkowski.

When asked who will start, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “We’re in the third week of preseason and we all have a lot of work to do, so that includes all of us — everybody.”

—The Arizona Cardinals officially placed defensive tackle Corey Peters on injured reserve Friday.

Coach Bruce Arians announced Thursday that Peters suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in Wednesday’s practice and is out for the season.

Peters, 27, was carted off the field Wednesday. This is the second major Achilles injury for Peters, who tore the tendon in his right leg late in the 2013 season.

—Former Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis reportedly will take a trip to Seattle on Saturday to visit the Seahawks.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the possibility on Thursday night, and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday that Mathis indeed will follow through on the planned visit with the defending NFC champions.

The trip had been in doubt as Mathis waited on an unknown team’s offer, but he is unlikely to reach an agreement before Saturday, Rapoport reported. The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets reportedly have shown the most interest.

—The Indianapolis Colts signed free agent guard Harland Gunn and waived wide receiver L.T. Smith.

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Gunn has played in 13 games (one start) over the last two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He most recently spent time with the New England Patriots and was waived on Aug. 6.

—The Dallas Cowboys have some concerns about the quality of the playing field at Levi’s Stadium as they prepare for Sunday’s preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Two weeks ago, the 49ers canceled a practice at their stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., due to grass problems.

“Well, we’re going to go up there and we’re going to go over to the stadium once we get there before we go over to the hotel and have a little bit of a walk-through and we’ll take a peek at it,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told reporters Thursday. “But it sounds like it has been an issue and they’re trying to address it as best they can. We’re going to play a game on Sunday afernoon, so we’ve got to figure it out. Hopefully they’ve taken care of their end of it.”

New 49ers coach Jim Tomsula initially planned to hold the first eight training camp practices at Levi’s Stadium, but the team was forced to move operations to the practice facility after two just practices as the sod gave way throughout the field.