Did I miss something here?

If not, then someone needs to explain to me the infatuation Browns head coach Mike Pettine has with Josh McCown, who he named as the starter for Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Pettine wants to win. He has to win to keep his job.

Why, then, did he pick McCown over Johnny Manziel?

Really, forget for a moment that Manziel is McCown’s competition for the job. Insert any name for Manziel into the equation – Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Vanna White, Donald Trump. Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Vladamir Putin, Madonna and Mr. Ed.

And when you do, you never, ever pick McCown.

Indeed, McCown has not won with any consistency in his NFL career. You might call him the anti-winner, or, more … well, let’s not go there. No, he’s not a loser – that’s kind of harsh — but, more importantly for the purpose of this piece, he’s a losing pro quarterback. That’s his resume. That’s his calling card.

And goodness knows that in this expansion era, the Browns have had enough losing pro quarterbacks to choke an elephant. Why in the name of Charlie Frye do they want to add to it?

Why Pettine, who’s a smart guy and someone I think can be a pretty good head coach in this league if given the time and resources, is hitching his wagon – his professional future – to McCown, is anyone’s guess.

But whatever the reason for picking McCown, Pettine had better hope he’s right. For after that thrilling performance down the stretch by Manziel in leading the Browns past the Tennessee Titans 28-14 last Sunday, if McCown stinks up the place and Cleveland loses to the Raiders, it won’t be pretty.

The schedule gets a lot tougher after Sunday’s game, and the Browns will be heading into it with just a 1-2 record.

The intent is to win games, right? And when a coach doesn’t win, he eventually gets fired, right?

Just checking to see if that’s still the way it is in the NFL.

Maybe someone should tell Mike Pettine before it’s too late – for him and for the Browns in the 2015 season.

By Steve King