Johnny Manziel is lucky to be alive ... because this is the wreckage from the car crash on the Sunset strip -- and you can see the entire passenger side was smashed beyond recognition.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Manziel told police he was a passenger in the car when it slammed into a pole on the Sunset strip on Saturday night.  

Cops believe the driver is Johnny's friend Ryan Silverstein -- who is famously part of Drake's crew. He is currently being investigated for hit-and-run. Manziel has not been accused of any wrongdoing. 

The car -- a Mercedes-Benz S550 -- was essentially totaled ... with the entire front end obliterated. The impact was so hard, every airbag in the car was deployed.  

What's especially scary for Johnny ... the passenger side appears to have taken the brunt of the force. 

Earlier in the evening, our cameras shot Johnny getting out of the same car ... wearing a baseball hat that appears to have been left in the car after the accident. 

We've reached out to Manziel for comment -- so far, no word back.