Intense wind conditions led to heavy run games by both Browns and Raiders Sunday afternoon. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns’ 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders …
1. Time for a bye: In their first game without Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns couldn’t score a touchdown against a defense yielding almost 33 points a game. How did that happen? High winds and intermittent rain had something to do with it. They couldn’t force a defensive turnover, couldn’t stop the Raiders on third down, dropped four passes at crucial points of drives, and had a Jarvis Landry touchdown catch overturned by replay. The Raiders simply were tougher at the line of scrimmage in a close-to-the-vest, throwback game and won, 16-6. Cody Parkey’s 37-yard field goal miss to the Dawg Pound end zone with 1:54 left – his first of the season -- ended hopes of a comeback attempt. The loss dropped the Browns to 5-3 as they hit their bye week. They’re still one-half game ahead of the Raiders (4-3) in the chase for three AFC wild card berths.
2. Keepaway: The Browns were unable to get off the field and solve Derek Carr’s short possession passing game. The Raiders were 7 of 13 on third down conversions. On three of their scoring drives, the Raiders possessed the ball for 8 minutes, 18 seconds, 8:54 and 8:47. Myles Garrett, who was in-and-out of this game after attending the injury tent for an undisclosed reason, was not on the field on the last of those drives. The Browns were 3 of 10 on third downs. Baker Mayfield was 12 of 25 for 122 yards and a 62.4 rating. Kareem Hunt had 66 yards rushing on 14 attempts.
3. Slow going: Because both teams reverted to ball-control offense, there were only two possessions in the third quarter. The Browns used theirs to tie the game, 6-6, on a 38-yard field goal. The field goal was necessitated when an apparent juggling Jarvis Landry TD grap over cornerback Nevin Joseph was overturned by replay. The replay showed the ball hitting the ground as Landry hit the ground. The Raiders ate over 6 minutes on their ensuing possession and then had the first TD of the game upheld by replay. Hunter Renfrow pivoted inside of Terrance Mitchell just over the goal line and made a sliding catch of 8 yards. The replay appeared to show the ball touching the ground, but the play stood for a 13-6 Raiders lead.
4. Weather winning: All the scoring in the first half came on field goals, short ones of 29 and 33 yards by the Raiders’ Daniel Carlson and a shaky-but-good line drive from 41 yards by Parkey. Carlson also missed a 41-yard try off the left upright, which made safety Ronnie Harrison feel better about dropping an interception on third down. Same thing happened on the Browns’ first drive. Mayfield was saved when a pass for Rashard Higgins inside the 15-yard line was almost intercepted. Parkey made his field goal, though. Two of the leading offenses in the league competing against two of the worst defenses, the Browns (92) and the Raiders (145) combined for only 237 offensive yards in the half.
5. Game of millimeters: The closest either team came to a touchdown in the first half was when Henry Ruggs beat Andrew Sendejo on a corner route from 10 yards out. Ruggs made the catch but barley scraped the out of bounds line with his left toe. The Raiders challenged, but the replay was too close to call and the ruling stood.
6. Revival of the DL: Garrett almost got his fifth strip of the season, but his swipe of Carr just missed on the Raiders’ first offensive series. Garrett left the game briefly for an unannounced injury but returned. He finally received some help on the defensive front. Olivier Vernon had two sacks in the first half and tackle Sheldon Richardson batted a Carr pass at the line of scrimmage, which was almost intercepted. In the second half, Larry Ogunjobi had a sack wiped out when he grabbed Carr's face mask before dragging him down.
7. Grinding: In the first half, rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills incurred a holding penalty and a false start. He added a second false start late in the fourth quarter.
8. Something new: Punter Jamie Gillan handled the second kickoff in the first half. He needed a spotter to hold the ball in place because of the wind. Gillan kicked the ball high and well short of the end zone. The Raiders started at their 32-yard line after a short runback. That ended that experiment.
9. Pre-game notes: The only healthy Browns made inactive were safety Jovante Moffatt and defensive end Joe Jackson. Ronnie Harrison started ahead of Karl Joseph at strong safety, and Harrison Bryant was the No. 1 tight end ahead of David Njoku. Kareem Hunt was the game captain. For the Raiders, right tackle Trent Brown was activated off the Covid list after practicing on Friday, but was a late scratch due to an unrelated illness.