"The Autumn Wind is a Raider" in Win vs. Browns

Final Score: LV 16 CLE 6 [W] (4-3)

First day of November, windy & wet weather conditions, now football season has started. Not much to say, but the Raiders got it done in sloppy weather conditions. They outrun the Browns in the ground game. When you're in a bad weather game and the running game is your strength, it's a no brainer to run the ball down the defense's throat.

Cleveland's rush defense is respectable, which makes this more impressive. It was literally the Josh Jacobs and Devontae Booker show today. Jacobs rushed for 128 yards on 31 carries. Booker when subbed in, gained tough runs after contact and finished with 29 rushing yards. The key phrase is the yards after contact. The running game plowed through the Browns' D-line at will and it chewed up a lot of the clock for the most part of the game.

The Browns tried to be a little too cute on their first drive. Rather than running the ball with Kareem Hunt, they started with some play action to get the pass game going. Probably the riskiest game plan when the elements are not in your favor. The Raider defense didn't have to do much with the poor game planning on the Browns' part under the elements.

Derek Carr can still use his legs. We all know his track record in cold weather games. It was an ugly game on both sides, but Carr did just enough to win. He got pressured, sacked all game long. But, he made the right plays at the right time. The crucial one was the go-ahead TD throw to Renfrow. 

There have been so many passing TDs that were waived off today. I thought that Renfrow TD was gonna get called back since the ball moved a bit. We'll take it regardless. The officiating hasn't always been kind to the Raiders, but that was a huge break and the play of the game. 

The Autumn Wind lead the Raiders to a win today. They only have 2 more cold weather games to deal with at this stretch, which is very favorable. Great win today in the midst of ugly weather conditions. Nothing more to say. I'll see you guys next week.

Raiders Rally in OT for First Win of the Season

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 4 matchup vs. the Cleveland Browns where the Raiders pull off an improbable come-from-behind victory over Baker Mayfield and the new-look Browns 42-45 in OT, giving Jon Gruden his first win as a head coach in a decade.

Finish, finish, finish. That was the point of emphasis that the Raiders had to work on after blowing three games where they built a pretty good lead in the first half. But, they couldn't finish. This scenario was little different. They were down in the first half. You'd think in a parallel universe, the Raiders would come from behind and win. Nope, it happened here in this universe and this was great win. Now, now, yes it took the Raiders until overtime to win against the Cleveland Browns. But, keep in mind this is a Browns team that is not as pitiful as their 0-16 counterpart last season. They finally have a quarterback that could drive the offense down the field. Their defense is full of young playmakers. No team should sleep on them. This was a hard fought victory.

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Takeaways. I believe this was the biggest key that the Raiders won this game. They were especially important in the 2nd half. Baker Mayfield as much of a stud he was, made a lot of rookie mistakes with the turnovers. Most of it, he had trouble with snap from his center and the Raiders D-line was able to fall on it to put the Raiders in great field position. Johnathan Hankins recovered those fumbles. Right place, right time. They helped shift the momentum as the Raiders were able to capitalize on both fumbles for TDs. Gareon Conley was also at the right place, right time for the first turnover and he took that in for the Raiders' 1st score of the game. Reggie Nelson had an INT. That was big since Mayfield was going for the "kill shot" on that deep throw and Nelson just cut in front of it and was able to pick it off and send this game into OT.

Coop-Cook-Nelson. Week 1, it was Cook. Week 2, it was Cooper, Week 3, it was Nelson. Week 4? It was a little bit of everything from this trio. Amari Cooper had 8 receptions for 128 yards and 1 TD. Jared Cook, 8 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TDs. Jordy Nelson, 5 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD and the clutch 2-pt conversion to tie up the game. This is what needed to be done. Just mix this trio up and put them in mismatch situations. It finally took this week for Gruden to get that right. Coupled with Martavis Bryant who had 3 receptions for 51 yards today, this is a very good receiving corps. And it's finally great to see that the ball is getting distributed around and not just on one particular receiver.

Marquel Lee, 10 total tackles (4 solo, 6 assists), 2 pass defensed. Defense was okay, but the one defender that stood out on that unit was Marquel Lee. He played more snaps than Derrick Johnson today and he was all over the field making plays. I was really impressed with his pass defense today, deflecting a pair of passes from Baker Mayfield that had potential to be big plays for the Browns had Lee not put his hands up. He made a couple of good stops on the goal line. He had a lot of potential when the Raiders took him last year and he blossomed as the "Mike" today.

Derek Carr, 35 of 58 passes, 437 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs. It's never pretty whenever Derek Carr is under center. But, this was the first time in a long time where he looked mentally challenged. That's the Derek Carr I knew. Whenever he makes mistakes, he rises to the occasion to be better. He doesn't talk it, he shows it and that showed today. Especially, rallying the Raiders to game-tying drive at the end of regulation and eventually the game-winning drive that ended in Matt McCrane's 29-yard field goal.

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Run defense. Last week, this was on point. Then again, the Dolphins rushing attack is non-existent. Look at what happened to them earlier today against the Patriots. The Browns' backfield combined for 208 rushing yards. Cleveland's backfield duo of Nick Chubb and Carlos Hyde accounted for a majority of the rushing yards. Nick Chubb in particular ripped some pretty explosive runs. Just bad overall effort from the defense to set the edge and shoot the gaps. Chubb was able to exploit that for his big runs.

MVP


Derek Carr, 35 of 58 passes, 437 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs

Like I said, it ain't always pretty with Carr. But, today he played like his contract of $125 million year. Some early turnovers? Shake it off and will this team to win.






Conclusion

Finally, that first win is in the books. It was three weeks overdue for Jon Gruden and he finally got a win in his return. But, there's still a lot of work to do for the coming weeks. A win against an improving Browns team is not something that'll spark a run for the Raiders, but it is a step in the right direction. This team is still not good enough to make a run to the playoffs, let's be realistic. It's just a matter of stringing together some wins here and there and this one was one of them. Next week, tough division battle ahead against the Chargers. But if anything, the Raiders have finally found out to play more than 60 minutes of football. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Week 4: RAIDERS vs. Browns 2nd Half Open Thread

2nd half of the Raiders-Browns matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

OT

CLE 42 OAK 45

It's over! Sweet redemption from the rookie kicker Matt McCrane after missing some costly field goals on the infield dirt. It was all about finishing the game. Three times, the Raiders didn't do that. Well, technically the last two games. This week, they did what they needed to do, finish the game. And it finally paid off. More to come in the full recap!

Q4

CLE 42 OAK 42

Just when we thought that last TD from Nick Chubb was over. The Raiders get a break with a controversial review. I thought Carlos Hyde had that first down and it was over. But, the football gods were on Oakland's side. And Carr mustered a 4th-quarter game tying drive with the pass to Cook and then Nelson with the clutch 2-pt conversion. This game's not over yet. Got 15 more minutes to pull out for the first win this season.

Q3

CLE 28 OAK 21

Weird quarter overall in terms of momentum. But, it looks like momentum is shifting towards the Raiders. The defensive unit it putting Cleveland's running game to a halt and it's definitely making Baker Mayfield and this Browns offense one-dimensional. Derek Carr, mistakes and all, he's hanging around and responding to his mistakes. He was able to hit Cook over the middle to put this game within a touchdown. Big run from Lynch to cap off that quarter and the Raiders are a TD away from tying the game.

Week 4: RAIDERS vs. Cleveland Browns 1st Half Open Thread

Welcome in to the first half open thread of the Raiders' Week 4 matchup vs. the Cleveland Browns. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

CLE 17 OAK 14

The Browns could've had one more shot to put points with 23 seconds and all 3 timeouts there. A little conservative from Hue Jackson. Raiders started off great with a Pick 6 from Gareon Conley. Marcus Gilchrist made a nice play on the ball, batting it off Jarvis Landry's hands. Conley, right place right time, secured it and took it all the way to the house. Then, 17 unanswered points from Baker Mayfield and the Browns made it seem like a distant memory. The Raiders were able to strike back with a drive capped off from the Carr to Cooper (AC/DC) connection. They had another solid drive going and then of course Carr throws an INT to stall the drive. That pick wasn't too much on Carr. Jared Cook had a pretty good matchup against the smaller defender. That defender just made a nice play and E.J. Gaines was at the right place, right time to pick it off. The first time this season, the Raiders are trailing. They lead in the first half most of the way through three games and we all know how those games ended up. Maybe a little fortune will turn their way not to blow a game in the 2nd half. We'll see. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

CLE 3 OAK 7

Poetic to welcome Baker Mayfield to the Black Hole with a Pick 6. That play was well set up by Marcus Gilchrist. Mayfield tried to hit Jarvis Landry with a short pass. But, Gilchrist tipped it. Gareon Conley was at the right place at the right time and picked off that ball to run it in for the TD. Not a bad showing from the defense, despite giving up some chunk plays after that drive. Irvin notched a sack against Mayfield. The defense made a goal line stand to hold the Browns to a field goal. Not a bad start. Now, if only the offense can get going.

Raiders Hold On to Snap Road Game Losing Streak vs. Browns

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' week 3 away matchup vs. the Cleveland Browns where the Raiders finally get that elusive road win on an early 10 AM start as they beat the Browns 27-20 behind Derek Carr's 2 touchdown performance and Charles Woodson's clutch INT in winding seconds of the 4th quarter to seal the game.

This is the feeling I got used to as a Raider fan. The Raiders are on the road, they're dominating the Browns in convincing fashion early on. The 2nd half rolls around, the Browns start to rally. I'm building up anxiety because they still had a chance to blow this game. And trust me Raider Nation, we've seen a lot of these games and we know the feeling of this team blowing a game on the road when they were playing so well all game long. But that was not the case today, the Raiders finally manage to win a road game in a long, long time, especially winning at a 10:00 AM start here on the West Coast.

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Derek Carr, 20 of 32 passes, 314 yards, 2 TDs. "Derek Carr is not the answer." "Derek Carr, all he does is check down." "His yards per average is terrible." "Derek Carr only posts great numbers during garbage time." Yes, he had a terrible preseason. Yes, he had a terrible home opener. But since that lost to the Bengals, Derek Carr has turned it on. He now has two games with 300+ passing yards and multiple TDs under his belt this season. Carr had another efficient game and handled the hostile Cleveland crowd like it was nothing. A lot of people questioned if he can repeat his performance from the Baltimore game, and he was poised, calm, and collected when commanding the huddle this game. The sky is the limit for Carr with the weapons and the running game he has at his disposal as the season goes forward.

Amari Cooper, 8 receptions, 134 yards. Cooper will encounter growing pains as a rookie with that fumble during the latter stages of the 4th quarter. But we can't let that mar how he performed this game, especially being shadowed by a good corner like Joe Haden. Let's admit, he straight up abused Joe Haden and the Browns' secondary on the first few passing plays that the Raiders started off with on their first drive. Cooper did to Haden like he did to Patrick Peterson in the third preseason game and the Browns' pass defense couldn't find a way to contain him. Despite the fumble, he'll learn from those mistakes, but Cooper played an outstanding game.

Latavius Murray, 26 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD. Tay Train, good job fielding together a solid game, but since I'm facing an opponent who has you starting in Fantasy, I'm going to be a little bitter about this post. The running game just couldn't get anything going from the start. But when the Browns couldn't stop the passing game of the Raiders, that opened up some plays for the running game. Murray was able to exploit some good solid holes up the middle against the Browns' run defense. This was a game Latavius Murray needed because he struggled the first few games and a lot of it had to do with the O-line. But since the Raiders' passing game was flying on all cylinders, that opened up some opportunity and kept the Browns' defense honest.

Sack party. The Raiders finally got some sacks after getting close to putting the QB on the ground. Khalil Mack had 2 sacks, Malcolm Smith, Ray-Ray Armstrong, and Neiron Ball each had 1 sack. The Raiders are going to need a whole lot of those. Maybe the Browns need to remember to never put their man on an island against Mack, but then again, the Browns' O-line had Aldon Smith and Justin Tuck to account for as well. But one sack that stood up was Neiron Ball's first career sack because that proved to be a huge one in the final seconds in 4th quarter and set up this next post.

Charles Woodson, 5 tackles, 1 INT. Man it was tough to see C-Wood continue to play with that injured shoulder he sustained during the Cincinnati game, but how he continues to play with that injury exemplifies his will to win. This is a young Raiders team that was on its heels on defense in the final seconds of the 4th quarter. Neiron Ball's sack was big, but C-Wood's 61st career INT was even bigger. The secondary was playing bad down the stretch and someone with veteran leadership had to step up. How fitting it was that C-Wood was the one who got in front of that last Josh McCown pass to seal it. That's what veterans do and Woodson has been closing out these kinds of games for a long time. He's just unbelievable.

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Pass defense. The secondary is bad, we already know that heading into the season. This game should've ended 27-3 if the Raiders had a better secondary. It's those quick passes that the Browns were executing on, especially on that 4th down play. Once again, the Raiders made an unknown tight end look like a Rob Gronkowski as they couldn't contain Gary Barnidge and they allowed some big plays down the stretch for the Browns when they were pinned down on their own 2 yard line. Coverage outside and down the middle in the pass, they are going to be on the improvement list unless Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton, Jr. can get it fix before the season is over.

Conclusion

Even though people will say that "hey it's the Cleveland Browns." They are a good football team and much like the Raiders, they just have a little more pieces to become a relevant team in the AFC North and they are beatable. But much like the Baltimore win, this win is a "feel good" moment for the Raiders because the monkey is off their backs. The road curse is over. Now with this win, the Raiders should feel more confident than ever that they can win anywhere. They get another favorable matchup on the road against "Da Bears" in Chicago with Jay Cutler out with a hamstring injury and injuries to their star receiver, Alshon Jeffery. A 3-1 start before going back home to face Peyton Manning and the Broncos? Why not? I'll see you guys next week for the Bears game.

Week 3: RAIDERS @ Cleveland Browns Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

OAK 27 CLE 20

I feel like I was going to have a heart attack during this quarter. But, I said it at halftime, the Raiders were known in the past to blow big leads, especially on the road. It almost happened as they shot themselves in the foot with that Amari Cooper fumble to put the Browns back within one TD. The defense clamped down on that final drive, but Charles Woodson stepped it up with the big INT. Bad shoulder at all, to come up with a clutch play like that. He's amazing. What a game! Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

OAK 20 CLE 10

If only the Raiders made that stop on 4th down. That TD got the Browns back in the game, but what do they have to lose since they're down by two scores? But great response by Derek Carr and the offense after Josh McCown's long drive. He hits Marcel Reece for a catch and run and the Raiders are knocking on the Browns' end zone again. They just gotta close out now.

Q2:

OAK 17 CLE 3 

Good momentum heading into the 2nd half. Latavius Murray got the running game going, Derek Carr throws two TDs to Andre Holmes and Seth Roberts, the defense makes a goal line stand. Special teams almost forced a fumble, but it was ruled down by contact. Yes, the Raiders are indeed taking the win last week against Baltimore and they are building that confidence up. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

OAK 3 CLE 0 

I was going to lose it if Ray-Ray Armstrong missed that tackle to end the quarter. It's a pretty solid opening for both the offense and defense. Carr was connecting to Cooper all quarter long and that matchup between Cooper and Haden? So far, Cooper is getting that edge. The passing game is sharp, but the running game needs to really get going. They tried it with a run off the edge by Murray that was called back, but ever since, they've gotten nothing. It's the only thing that's keeping the offense from firing on all cylinders.

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.

Raiders' Mistakes Costly, Lose to Browns

Alright, welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders-Browns game where the Raiders fought hard in the first half, but the Raiders had a couple of heartbreaking mistakes down the stretch to give the game away to the Browns as the Browns defeat the Raiders 13-23 after an embarrassing loss to the previous win-less Jaguars last week.

I just want to put both of my hands in front of my face before I post this up. That's it, it's official, we are the worst team in the league. I said in my full recap last week when the Raiders lost to the Cardinals that the Cleveland Browns always play tough at home. The difference between this week and last week, the Browns were playing in Jacksonville last week, this week, they got the Raiders and home and they totally blew it open in the second half. I didn't want to put the stamp on yet, but after this game, we deserve that stamp as the absolute worst in the NFL. I'll be criticize for saying that, but there's a fine line between being a die hard fan who supports a team no matter what and being a die hard fan, who supports the team no matter what, but who is also being honest and accepting the facts.

The Positives

The linebackers. Khalil Mack finished with 6 tackles, Sio Moore finished with 9 tackles, and Miles Burris also finished with 9 tackles. Mack and Moore have the potential to be a terrorizing tandem in the outside linebacker spots and they put their first stamp this game. As mentioned, the Browns were the 3rd best rushing team and Khalil Mack and Sio Moore kept that running game in check. Of course there's the exception where Ben Tate got a rushing TD when Carr fumbled after running into Austin Howard and the defense was pretty much gassed out. Miles Burris, he may be the worst middle linebacker in the league, but he played a pretty big part as well shutting down the Cleveland running game. Although, Burris is indeed lucky the Browns barely dialed up any passing plays down the middle on third downs.

The Negatives

Turnovers. The big time story here, the turnovers ultimately killed the Raiders and they were momentum killing plays. The first one, the INT Matt Schaub threw during a fake field goal, the Browns scored on a Billy Cundiff field goal. The second one, that was more devastating and it ultimately cost the Raiders. Darren McFadden's fumble, in Cleveland territory, the ball got popped loose after a big hit from Donte Whitner and it fell into the hands of Joe Haden, the Browns score on a Brian Hoyer touchdown pass. The third one, Derek Carr runs into Austin Howard, the ball comes loose, Browns recover and the Browns punch in the dagger on a Ben Tate TD. What did Sparano say? Oakland's gotta stop beating Oakland? With the turnovers, the Raiders beat themselves yet again and it was frustrating to see.

Penalties. The Raiders committed 8 penalties for 54 yards. I'll give Dennis Allen a benefit of a doubt that he did make the Raiders more discipline, but the tradeoff is that they become more conservative. Sparano takes over, he wants the Raiders to be physical and take shots, the tradeoff, more penalties.

The offense. We went from dropping 28 points to the Chargers to dropping 13 points against the Cardinals and 13 points against the Browns. A couple of factors played a part: a lackluster running game, dropped passes from receivers (typical), penalties, and Carr getting pressured in his face. The play calling was also lackluster, Greg Olson has went back to his conservative ways. I barely saw Carr in the shotgun, he was mostly under center. He utilized McFadden on a pitch and on the edge, and he went back to running up the middle. It's no surprise anymore. By seasons end, Olson's likely gone along with Tarver.

Conclusion

Welp, the easy part of our schedule is over and the next wave is not going to be fun. Seattle, Denver twice, KC twice, San Diego, St. Louis, a Bay Area showdown with the 49ers, I mean you can't squander an opportunity like that. The Raiders blew it big time in the first half of the schedule and they're going to pay for it with the 2nd half, unless this team miraculously turns it on against this nearly impossible stretch. It doesn't get any easier and it doesn't get any easier next week when the Raiders head over to face the defending champs in Seattle with the 12th man. I'm not really going to clamor "0-16", but with the loss to the Browns and the schedule up ahead, it looks 99% imminent. Anyway, I'll see you guys next week for the game against the Seahawks.

*On another note, basketball season is around the corner and with that, I have to post the annual 2014-15 preview for the Lakers. That will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned.*

Week 8: RAIDERS @ Cleveland Browns Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: OAK 13 CLE 23

I'm not going to wait until the clock ticks zero, so whatever the score is at the end, I'll update it. I'm just lost for words right now about this game. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: OAK 6 CLE 9

McFadden's official candy bar...

Momentum crushing play...

Q2:

Score: OAK 6 CLE 9

That last play scared me because I thought the Raiders were gonna run out of time to end the half, but Carr showed great patience and pushed the team to get back and line up on scrimmage in time to spike it. It's a game of field goals and the Browns only lead by 3. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: OAK 0 CLE 6

Matt Schaub sees action for the first time as a Raider on special teams and yet he still throws picks. I don't what was the process of that play calling. Well, not much has happened here this quarter. Even though, the Raiders did give Cleveland a 6 point lead, the defense is keeping their running game in check, although we know the Browns' running game is bad and Brian Hoyer is on an ongoing slump.

RAIDERS @ Browns Halftime Post

Score: OAK 3 CLE 9

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders-Browns game where the Browns lead a field goal at the half.

The Positives

Mack & Moore. Khalil Mack, 3 tackles. Sio Moore, 4 tackles. This is our linebacker corps of the future and if only they had a defensive line to help them, they would've wrecked even more havoc on the edges. They don't have a sack yet though, but the duo has done a great job keeping the Browns' running game in check. I said in my Q-by-Q post that the Browns' running game are awful when in fact they are the 3rd best rushing team in the league. Whoops, but nonetheless, both Mack and Moore have kept Ben Tate in check and the Browns' running game as a whole.

Justin Ellis. He may not have anything in the stat line, but Ellis is showing why the Raiders selected him in the 4th round as a space eater Nose Tackle. There was one play when the Browns were in the red zone that he just blew by the Browns' offensive line and almost got a handful on Brian Hoyer. Aside from Mack, Carr, Jackson, and Carrie, Ellis is also trying to make his mark for this 2014 draft class starting in that defensive tackle spot in place of Pat Sims.

The Negatives

Maurice Jones-Drew, 5 carries, 7 yards. MJD looked really old out there so far. He couldn't get on the edge like he used to or make tacklers miss due to his small size. Our 1-2 punch of McFadden and Jones-Drew has gotten off to a slow start and it reflects why the Raiders are last in the running game.

Offensive play calling. Honestly, how did we go from throwing bombs against a good Chargers to become more conservative? I don't see Carr being put on shotgun formation to launch the ball deep, they've totally regressed going back to a vanilla-style play calling and Greg Olson plays a big part in that despite Sparano taking over the reins.

Bottom Line

Well, it's only 3 points at least. The defense has to continue to keep the Browns' offense in check and the Raiders' offense has to get going. This half is critical if the Raiders really want to get on that win column and end a long losing streak dating back to last season.