Austin Davis named starter, Browns heavy underdogs vs. Bengals in Week 13

Austin Davis named starter vs. Bengals

The Cleveland Browns have named their replacement for injured quarterback Josh McCown and it won't be Johnny Manziel.

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On Sunday the Browns will start Austin Davis under center when they travel to Cincinnati to take on the 9-2 Bengals. Davis nearly engineered a successful come-from-behind victory on Monday night versus the Ravens but a blocked field goal-turned-touchdown for Baltimore cost Cleveland the game.

"Austin took advantage of his opportunity on Monday night. He was prepared, played well and put us in position to win," Coach Mike Pettine said. "He’s been great in the quarterback room all season and he has earned the right to start on Sunday. We expect him to play well."

Davis was 7-of-10 for 77 yards and threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin in the loss on Monday. He started eight games with the Rams last season, going 3-5 with a 63.4 completion percentage to go with a  12:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He struggled when defenses finally adjusted to him, constantly sending pressure and sacking him 29 times.

According to oddsmakers from online sports book RealBet.eu, the Browns are a 9.5-point road underdog for Sunday's 1:00PM ET kickoff against the Bengals. Cleveland had opened as a 7.5-point dog but the number is climbing and might reach double digits but Sunday.

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