Las Vegas had the bounce back they needed on the road in Cleveland. Raiders overcame their cold-weather struggles and came out with a victory of 16-6 over the Cleveland Browns, silencing the dog pound.
The Raiders defense had its best performance of the year, even if the weather helped it. The Raiders were able to hold the Browns to 4.7 yards per play, which is their lowest of the year. While they didn’t come away with any sacks, they could force Mayfield to be uncomfortable in the pocket. The defense gets all praise this week after a terrible performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The offense struggled because of the weather and not being able to move the ball consistently. However, they finished with over 208 yards rushing and averaged over 4.6 yards per rush. This was a game fans love to see the Raiders win because they didn’t have to rely on the passing game to pull this one against a conference opponent.
Who is the winner and losers of Week 8? Let’s take a look.
Winner: QB Derek Carr
In cold weather, Derek Carr has been a topic all week with his naysayers expecting him to have a tough matchup. While he didn’t quiet the haters through the air, he didn’t make any crucial mistakes and allowed the Raiders to pull out a win.
Carr’s passing numbers are his worse of the season. He finished 15-24 with 112 yards and a touchdown on the day and missed a couple of throws due to the wind. The biggest part of Carr’s game we continue to see elevate is his running ability. He had his most rushing yards since 2017 with 43 yards rushing with a massive run late in the fourth when the Raiders were attempting to seal the game.
Carr has won in Arrowhead and is slowly conquering his cold-weather demons. The Raiders franchise leader in touchdowns said during the offseason; he was tired of the disrespect. Throughout the duration of the season, it seems to have been backing up every single word.
Winner: RB Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs has received his fair share of criticism since the beginning of the season with no 100-yard rushing games so far. It continued last week after the ugly 17-yard performance against the Bucs. Jacobs bounced back this week with his best performance of the season.
Jacobs finished the game with 128 yards rushing on 31 carries. He was excellent running between the tackles and executing outside zone, helping the Raiders move the ball. It was terrible weather conditions, but Jacobs made defenders miss and kept the Browns on their heels.
Fans were too hard on Jacobs going into this game, and he just needed a line with a week of practice. The Raiders formula right now feels like they should attempt to be up big in the fourth and allow Jacobs to finish. It worked against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Browns. We could see this more pretty soon.
Winner: DC Paul Guenther
Paul Guenther doesn’t have many fans in Raider nation these days after giving up 30 plus points in five of their first six games. Gruden mentioned there would be changes during his press conferences this week, and we weren’t sure what those would be. After just six points allowed against the Browns, Guenther might be out of the dog house for now.
The Raiders were dominant upfront for most of the game, putting the Browns in third and long situations throughout the game. They created a turnover early in the first with Nick Kwiatkowski knocking the ball out. They continued to set the tone forcing the browns to finish the game with a 30% conversion rate on the day. This all led to the Raiders keeping an opponent under 10 points for the first since Derek Carr has been the quarterback of the Raiders.
Guenther will work for sure to stay on for the rest of the season, and we don’t know how much control he has left. Whatever changes they made during this week, it worked and should be the philosophy in the future. If the defense can put together performances like this more often matched with a top offense, the Raiders could be a playoff team.
Loser: RT Sam Young
The Raiders were hoping they would have their highly paid left tackle back this week with Trent Brown taken off the Covid list. Everything changed quickly when Brown got sick before kickoff, and the Raiders were hoping Sam Young would step in. Young struggled early and often and then left the game again with injury forcing in Brandon Parker.
Young was not ready for his matchup with Browns’ defensive end Oliver Vernon. Vernon muscled the swing tackle with his bull rush every time Young left his chest open. Both rushes led to sacks by Vernon on Carr, causing good developing drives to stall before he was injured. After his injury, he was outplayed by Brandon Parker, and that should tell you all you need to know.
Young is still a decent backup, but he is definitely proof the Raiders will be patient when it comes to Trent Brown. The running game is a different animal when the big right tackle is on the field with his athleticism, and Brown holds up better in pass protection. With Bosa coming up next on the schedule, the Raiders need Young to step up to the Challenge.
Trent Brown Haters
Brown has been facing hard vitriol from Raiders fans all season, with many wanting him traded. It all came to a full head this week when Brown was taken off the covid list, but Sunday was ruled inactive right before kickoff. Many fans wanted him off the team on the spot but what we found out was a much more serious issue.
Brown had an IV issue before the game that was extremely serious. There was air put in his bloodstream, which could have proved to be deadly, and he rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. He is staying overnight for more tests, but this could have been worse than it was.
This is why it is important for fans not to overreact or speak badly about players because of rumors they have heard. Brown’s work ethic has been questioned many times throughout this season but never by his coaches. Maybe it’s just time to lay off the man and let it be.
