RAIDERS-Browns Halftime Post

OAK 17 CLE 3

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' first road game vs. the Cleveland Browns in a Week 3 matchup where the Raiders have the momentum, leading 17-3 heading into the 2nd half.

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Amari Cooper, 4 receptions, 103 yards. It was a hot topic of debate heading into this game with how Joe Haden is going to shadow Amari Cooper like it was the heavy weight fight of the century. And so far, Cooper is dominating the battle against Haden. His route running ability dating back to his Alabama days is on another level. He may not be getting the TDs, but he made one of the best corners in the game look foolish during the first half.

Derek Carr, 12 of 21 passes, 201 yards, 2 TDs. Carr is for real. After throwing 3 TDs, 300+ passing yards against Baltimore, Carr is showing that consistency. There were a lot of questions surrounding if Carr can be consistent after the Baltimore game and after that showing in the first half, he's answering that question. He fielded a good solid drive at the start, took advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty by throwing a TD to Holmes, and using the hurry-up that Bill Musgrave imported from Philly, able to tack on more points by throwing a TD to Roberts.

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Covering Tight Ends. With the exception of Tyler Eifert, the Raiders' defense made Crockett Gilmore look good last week and now they're making Gary Barnidge look good. Who? So far, the defense have done a good job containing the run, keeping the Browns' receivers in check, and putting pressure on McCown, but honestly the defense needs to stop making these unknown Tight Ends look like the next coming of Rob Gronkowski. It's getting ridiculous out there.

Bottom Line

The Raiders build a good cushion for themselves. That's a good start in the first half. The only problem is that the Raiders have had a tough time closing out games when they build up a lead like this in the past, especially on the road. As a team lead by Jack Del Rio, they cannot look onto that fact and they must continue to stay aggressive on the playcalling on both offense and defense. Let's see what happens.