No question the Raiders vs Browns on Monday was not pretty. It wasn’t really expected to be, based mostly on the fact that the Browns were missing 19 players to the reserve/COVID-19 list including starting QB Baker Mayfield and backup QB Case Keenum.
But also due to how the Raiders have played of late. It made this game against a bunch of practice squad guys no gimme. And that’s just how it played out.
Neither team managed to get out of the teens in the game. The Raiders started out 10-0, then the Browns came back to take the lead 14-13 with the Raiders defense holding strong late to give the Raiders offense another chance and they were able to move into scoring range to win it 16-14.
Ballers
SS Johnathan Abram
Abram was laying some serious wood in this game. He made the first tackle of the game. Then a few plays later, he flew into the backfield to blow up a run play at the handoff for a seven-yard loss, leading to a punt.
Abram made tackles on each of the next two Browns’ possession, including the tackle on third down to force a third straight punt to open the game.
Just as he began the first quarter, he opened the third quarter with a tackle. It was another run stuff for a loss, leading to another three-and-out and a fourth punt. In the end, Abram would lead the Raiders with nine combined tackles (six solo) and two tackles for loss. Despite leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.
That shoulder injury, as it turns out, will end his season. So, he went out strong at least.
RB Josh Jacobs
The Raiders had four first downs on their second scoring drive and Jacobs picked up three of them. The drive made it as far as the six-yard-line with Jacobs running for 24 yards on five carries. But despite his success, the Raiders abandoned the run at first and goal and thus the drive stopped there.
Their next scoring drive also heavily featured Jacobs. He ran five more times for 22 yards and picked up one first down. But once again, the drive stalled on two incompletions, leading to another field goal.
Jacobs would add a nine-yard catch on the Raiders’ game-winning drive at the end to finish with 18 touches (15 rushes) for 94 yards (52 rushing).
DT Johnathan Hankins, LB KJ Wright, LB Divine Deablo
The game ended with off a drive by the offense, but the play of the game came on defense. With 2:31 remaining and the Raiders out of timeouts, the Browns lined up in third and three for the game. They get the first down and they run out the clock. The defense holds, and the Raiders get another shot.
The defense held.
Nick Chubb came around the right side and was met by Hankins with Deablo and Wright on the assist.
Hankins was filling gaps all day, Wright finished second on the team in tackles (8), and the rookie Deablo proved reliable as well in his second start.
K Daniel Carlson
Carlson was three-for-three in the game, including the game-winner from 48 yards out as time expired. In fact, he hit that 48-yarder twice because the Browns called a timeout to ice him. He hit the second attempt more accurate than the first.
Busters
QB Derek Carr
I’d love to just give him credit for his couple of nice completions to Zay Jones on the final drive. But that would be ignoring all the mistakes he made to put the Raiders in the position where they needed a final drive to pull it out. First and foremost the interception he threw on the previous drive trying to connect with Jones.
That pick threatened to seal it and have the Browns celebrating a 14-13 win. All the Browns needed to do was pick up one first down on their ensuing possession and it would be over. Carr was lucky the defense stiffened up to stop them so he could have another chance.
Carr also had two fumbles in the game, tying him for the league lead in fumbles on the season (11). The first one was on a sneak that resulted in a punt. The second the Browns recovered at the Vegas 47 and led to their first touchdown.
Perhaps Carr’s biggest missed opportunity came in the second quarter. With the team in first and goal at the six-yard-line after a drive largely on Josh Jacobs’s running, Carr couldn’t finish it off.
On first down, he threw wide and incomplete of Hunter Renfrow on first and goal. Second down he passed up open field in front of him to break out left and threw incomplete to a double-covered Hunter Renfrow.
With third down upcoming, he was flagged for delay of game, backing them up to the 11. And from there he decided to try and run it and was easily taken down five yards short of the goal line.
Keep in mind the Browns had 17 players on reserve/COVID-19 for this game including 10 defenders. And it took a defensive stand and a last-second field goal for the Raiders to put up 16 points and escape with a win. Not much to celebrate here other than complete embarrassment.
RT Brandon Parker, RG Alex Leatherwood, C Andre James
The right side of the Raiders line was in rare form again. Meaning rare for most lines. Not rare for them in the slightest.
Parker and Leatherwood each gave up run stuffs on the Raiders’ first drive to start Josh Jacobs’s day with zero yards on two carries. Then Parker gave up another run stuff on Jacobs for no gain on a play that was negated in favor of a holding penalty that actually wasn’t on Parker.
I said actually because Parker was called for holding on the first play of the next drive.
Come the third quarter, Andre James gave up a sack on Derek Carr which he fumbled away to give the Browns the ball in Vegas territory. They would score off that field position.
Leatherwood gave up another run stuff on the next drive. And a few plays later James simply didn’t snap the ball despite Carr clapping, jumping, and yelling for it, and ultimately having to call timeout.
Next drive James gave up a tackle for loss. Then on the play Carr threw the interception, Parker gave up pressure.
I wish I could say the weekly struggles these guys have wasn’t 100% predictable before the season even started.
LB Cory Littleton
The usual starting linebacker saw just five snaps in this game. And they were costly ones for the Raiders. In the third quarter, Nick Chubb broke off what at that point was the biggest play of the game when he broke out left for 24 yards. Littleton had the best shot at stopping him and he missed the tackle.
Two plays later, it looked for a moment like Browns tight end David Njoku had posterized Littleton for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. If not for Njoku’s left heel landing on the end line. But on the next play the Browns just went back to the ground, handing it to Chubb who ran for the score with Littleton getting blown through along the way.
CB Brandon Facyson
To Facyson’s credit, he had three pass breakups in this game. All of them came in the first half and Mullen had just 12 completions for 72 yards.
The lily started to wilt late in the second quarter when Facyson committed a pass interference that put the Browns in field goal range. The kick was missed to keep it a 10-0 game at the half.
It was a 13-7 game midway through the fourth quarter meaning the Browns needed a touchdown drive to have a shot. They would get that touchdown drive and convert three third downs along the way. All of those third-down conversions went through Facyson. The final third-down conversion was an 11-yard catch on third-and-eight to put the Browns on the 11-yard-line. The only big catch on the drive he didn’t give up was the touchdown. Casey Hayward gave that up.
All told, he gave up five catches for 55 yards plus 14 yards on the pass interference penalty.
