In the match-up of Charlie Frye vs. Derek Anderson, Anderson came out victorious, albeit not overly impressive in comparison. There were some frustrations in the Browns' 23-9 victory over the Raiders, such as passing too often with Derek Anderson when our running game was effective or not being able to understand more often that Frye wanted to throw the quick slant when we blitzed.
For the second week in a row, Jerome Harrison carried the load. Once again, to the critics who felt Harrison was too small to be an NFL running back, he proved otherwise with 39 carries for 148 yards. He did have a fumble down near our red zone, but also had a touchdown run negated a few plays earlier when Michael Gaines had a silly block in the back penalty.
For the Raiders, Frye made some decent throws, completing 57.8% of his passes for 333 yards. Our defense got to him four times for a sack though, and his three picks were critical. The first pick gave the Browns an early 7-0 lead after a 17-yard touchdown run by Harrison.
Anderson looked like Anderson throughout the game with unnecessarily hard and inaccurate throws, but he did display some touch on a 17-yard floater/timing pattern to Mohamed Massaquoi at the end of the second quarter. That drive was possible after one of the most out-of-control possessions this season in football. A few 15-yard penalties canceled themselves out, but the Raiders were the team who couldn't keep their cool with two additional 15-yard penalties and an ejection that made our final drive of the half possible.
After starting the season at 1-11, the Browns have won three straight games and stand at 4-11. We can't finish worse than last season, and we could actually finish with a better record. Our draft position might be getting worse, but right now, I couldn't be happier that we're winning football games.