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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Johnny Manziel said his first NFL start left him with a sour taste in his mouth.Clevelands polarizing quarterback vows to be more decisive in his decision making this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.Manziel was 10 of 18 for 80 yards, and the Browns barely broke 100 total yards in a 30-0 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week.I have to be more confident and trust in my eyes and trust what Im seeing out there on the field, Manziel said. I felt like I was a little hesitant last week on a couple of throws and it really did hurt me throughout the game.Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Cam Newton will start at quarterback barring any setbacks before Sunday. Newton will return to the lineup after suffering two fractures in his lower back in an automobile accident on Dec. 9.Browns coach Mike Pettine said while Manziel struggled in his NFL starting debut, he didnt get much help from his teammates — on either side of the ball.Theres very little that went well for us, Pettine said. It was one of those games where it snowballed early, we fell behind and never got into a rhythm offensively and couldnt get off the field defensively.Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson said Carolina plans to borrow a page from the Bengals playbook on how to stop Manziel. Johnson said the Bengals got pressure on Manziel with their front four, mixed up coverages, and at times kept a spy locked in on the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.Its a copycat league, so ... Johnson said with a smile.The Panthers defence has improved dramatically in the second half of the season and moved up to 16th in the league. Carolina will be plenty motivated to slow down Manziel, and not only because theyd rather not see the rookie making any money gestures with his fingers in the end zone.At 5-8-1, Carolina still has a chance to win the NFC South. Carolina trails New Orleans (6-8) by a half-game and can win the division if it wins out and the Saints lose once.DECEMBER FREEZE: The Browns are trying to end a troubling pattern of late-season collapses. Theyve lost 10 straight games in December, with the last win coming on Dec. 9, 2010 at Kansas City. Cleveland is a woeful 3-19 in December since ending the 2009 season with four straight wins that saved coach Eric Manginis job. Mike Pettine had the Browns at 6-3 and hes spent this week getting his team to focus on finishing strong.I cautioned them about looking back and cautioned them about looking forward, Pettine said. These opportunities are few and far between. Weve got a real bad taste in our mouth. Weve had it now for a month, and we need to get rid of it.STEWART ON A ROLL: The Panthers are expected to get DeAngelo Williams back from a broken hand, but it might behoove Rivera to stick with his hot hand: Jonathan Stewart. Stewart is averaging more than 100 yards rushing over the past three games. However, in the past Rivera has remained most loyal to Williams, the teams all-time leading rusher, and started him whenever healthy.RUNNING AWAY: Holes in Clevelands defence, an early-season issue, have reopened. Last week, the Browns gave up 241 yards rushing as Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill backed up his harsh assessment of Cleveland — worse than I thought — following a loss last month by gaining 148 yards and scoring twice. The Browns took bad angles, missed tackles and let the Bengals run wild.We did a lot of the little things wrong across the board, whether it was awareness, gathering information presnap to aiming points to how we played blocks, Pettine said.RED ZONE BLUES: The Panthers have struggled scoring touchdowns, all too often settling for field goals. Last week they reached Tampa Bay territory on all 11 possessions, but managed just one touchdown and four field goals. You cant win consistently in this league if you kick field goals, Rivera said.FINDING STABILITY: The Panthers have won back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the season. That can be at least partly attributed to a semblance of continuity on the offensive line, where the Panthers will start the same lineup for the fourth straight game.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL___AP Sports Writer tom Withers in Cleveland, Ohio contributed to this report. China NFL Jerseys . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. https://www.cheapnfljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . The 26-year-old slider from Calgary posted a time of 50.464 seconds, 0.573 seconds back of leader Natalie Geisenberger. The German led the overall World Cup womens standings this season and continued her dominance by putting down a track record time of 49. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chauncey Billups squared up, and the roar began before the shot even left his hand, finally reaching a crescendo when the ball dropped through the net. "Its not like that everywhere," Billups said. Billups enjoyed a delightful homecoming Wednesday night, scoring 16 points in his first game back with the Pistons and helping Detroit to a 113-102 victory over the Washington Wizards. Greg Monroe had 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Josh Smith added 19 points for the new-look Pistons, who won their first game under new coach Maurice Cheeks. Detroit signed Smith and acquired Brandon Jennings in a trade this off-season, but it was Billups who fans seemed most excited about. He was in the starting lineup and drew a huge cheer when he was the last player introduced in the pregame ceremony. Billups was the MVP of the 2004 NBA Finals with the Pistons, but he was traded four years later in a deal Detroit fans still look back on with regret. The Pistons signed him back this off-season. Detroit trailed 7-3 when Billups connected on that 3-pointer from the right wing -- when the crowd started cheering in anticipation well before the shot went in. Billups added a couple more big shots in the fourth quarter, and by the time the game was over, fans were chanting "MVP!" for him. "It felt good, but that was a little crazy," the 37-year-old Billups said. Andre Drummond added 12 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which is hoping to snap a streak of four straight seasons without reaching the playoffs. Trevor Ariza scored 28 points for the Wizards, who were outscored 56-28 in the paint. Washingtons John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, but went 8 of 21 from the field. "We got beat everywhere tonight," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Everyone in this league knows that you cant let Chauncey Billups shoot 3-pointers. You have to make him put the ball on the floor and beat you that way. So what did we do? We stood there and watched him shoot open 3s." Detroit led 89-85 in the fourth when Kyle Singler pushed the lead to seven with a driving three-point play. Billups later made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 100-87. "We just didnt do anything defensively all night.dddddddddddd We were just watching them," Wall said. "You dont want to get behind in the other teams home opener, because everyone is excited and you just let the crowd get all ramped up. We got close a couple times, but Chauncey or Josh would hit a shot and the crowd would go crazy again. Thats on us." Washington is hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008, but it may be awhile before the Wizards or Pistons really have a sense of how improved they are. Washington was without first-round draft pick Otto Porter, who has been out with a right hip flexor problem. Center Marcin Gortat, acquired from Phoenix in a trade last week, did not start and played only 17 minutes. Jennings was out for Detroit with an impacted wisdom tooth and a hairline fracture on the mandible at the base of the tooth. Guard Rodney Stuckey also is injured. He broke his right thumb after catching it in a car door and needed surgery. Smith, Detroits prized free agent signing, had a quiet first half, scoring five points and taking three of his four shots from beyond the arc. Drummond, however, was a force inside. His highlights included two emphatic putback dunks, the second of which gave the Pistons a 45-33 lead. It was 55-43 at halftime. Smith went right to work in the second half with a dunk, and after the Wizards cut the lead to six, Smiths 3-pointer made it 68-59. Smith also was active around the basket on defence, blocking what looked like a dunk attempt by Gortat late in the third quarter. "It was picture perfect for me," Smith said. "Just being able to get out there and see the fans cheering the basketball team on, staying engaged for the whole game." Although there were pockets of empty seats in the upper level, there was more energy at the Palace than on almost any night last season. Pistons owner Tom Gores was seated courtside, and for one game at least, his revamped team gave fans reason for optimism. "It feels like old times," Billups said. "The energy in this building sounded familiar. I hadnt seen that in a while around here. It felt really good." ' ' '