Browns vs. Raiders Final Score: Cleveland loses 16-6 heading into the bye on a windy day

This would have been a much different game for both teams if it hadn’t been for the weather conditions. That led to a low-scoring game, but when it boiled down to it, it was the Browns who made more mistakes and were losing the battle of the trenches throughout, losing 16-6. Let’s get to the recap of the game.

1st Quarter

With high winds in effect, the Las Vegas Raiders received the ball first. Derek Carr strung together a good mix of short passes with the running game, but after TE Darren Waller dropped an open pass, the Raiders faced a 3rd-and-6 from the 23 yard line. DE Myles Garrett came around the edge and went for the strip, but Carr somehow hung on — he tried to fire to his target, but didn’t see S Ronnie Harrison, who missed the interception from close range. K Daniel Carlson came on for a 41-yard field goal, and although he aimed for the right upright, the wind blew it all the way to the left and off the crossbar.

The Browns were on the move for their first drive with runs by QB Baker Mayfield and RB Kareem Hunt, and a couple of Raider penalties — but then TE Harrison Bryant fumbled on a screen pass with the Raiders recovering at their own 27 yard line.

Cleveland’s defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball right back after a punt, thanks to a sack by DE Olivier Vernon on third down, his first of the season. However, the 56-yard punt out of bounds helped change the field position back in Las Vegas’ favor.

Cleveland utilized a 19-yard catch and run by TE David Njoku to get to midfield, and kept chipping away. They went for it on 4th-and-1 with a quarterback sneak and converted.

2nd Quarter

The Browns faced a 3rd-and-5 from the 38 yard line to begin the second quarter. Hunt ripped an 18-yard run off the left edge to move the chains and get Cleveland near the red zone. Hunt was stopped for a loss on his next play, and then two incomplete passes set up a 41-yard attempt for K Cody Parkey. Parkey tried a low line drive, and it ended up going through to his delight, giving Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

Las Vegas got some tough runs by RB Devonte Booker to begin their next drive, but one run stuff and Vernon’s second sack of the day set up a 3rd-and-18. Unfortunately, the defense allowed a 17-yard screen pass to Booker, allowing them to go for and convert a 4th-and-1 handoff to the fullback. Later in the drive, the Raiders could have kicked a short field goal, but decided to go for it again on 4th-and-1, and converted on the ground.

After a run for no gain and a tipped pass for an incomplete, Carr faced 3rd-and-10 from the 11 yard line. He lofted a pass to the back right corner of the end zone for WR Henry Ruggs III — although the pass was ruled incomplete on the field, they challenged, and replay review appeared to show that his second foot just barely stayed in bounds for a touchdown. However, the ruling on the field stood, so Carlson came on to hit a 29-yard field goal. That completed the 16-play drive that lasted over 8 minutes, tying the game at 3-3 with 5:17 to go in the half.

A rain/snow/hail mix then commenced. Cleveland responded with an ugly three-and-out drive, which can’t help a defense that was just on the field forever. At the very least, P Jamie Gillan got off a nice punt to start Las Vegas’ next drive at the 31 yard line. After the two-minute warning, Las Vegas was driving and the rain started pouring in front of a 3rd-and-6 play. The Raiders ran a draw play, though, and they picked up 6 yards — however, a booth review was called to stop the clock, helping Las Vegas to slow the rain and stop the clock. The defense couldn’t keep holding them, though, and Carlson was able to hit a 33-yard field goal to send Las Vegas into the half with a 6-3 lead.

3rd Quarter

Coming out of the half, the Browns got what appeared to be two big plays from WR Jarvis Landry. First, it was a 19-yard catch-and-run, in which he made a man miss and then tiptoed down the sideline for more yards.

Then, on 3rd-and-6 from the 20 yard line, Mayfield lofted the ball to the end zone for Landry, who double clutched the catch but ultimately came down with it. However, the booth reviewed that the ball hit the ground, making it 4th-and-6 and forcing head coach Kevin Stefanski to make a decision. Parkey came on and drilled the 38-yard field goal to tie things up at 6-6.

The Raiders had no trouble continuing to move the ball against Cleveland’s defense, once again putting together a lengthy drive that took up the rest of the quarter, leading into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter

Facing a goal-to-go situation to begin the fourth quarter, an incomplete pass made it 3rd-and-goal from the 4 yard line. Carr fired a strike to WR Hunter Renfrow that was ruled a touchdown, but we had yet another booth review, as it looked the ball may have touched the ground. However, because the ball didn’t move after touching the ground, the ruling on the field stood, leading to the first touchdown of the game to give the Raiders a 13-6 lead. It was another 15-play drive for the Raiders, taking up nearly 9 minutes of clock.

Cleveland got to midfield on their next drive, but Njoku missed a wide open catch that would have at least been a first down, with some room to run. Gillan’s punt looked to be saved at the 2 yard line, but the Browns’ special teamers’ foot was in the end zone for a touchback.

The Browns’ defense was dominated again in the trenches, allowing another drive of over 8 minutes in length. It included a 15-yard facemask penalty on DT Larry Ogunjobi; and then when Carr looked to have fumbled at the 2 yard line, with four Browns standing around it, Booker dove in to land on the ball. Cleveland’s defense did stop the Raiders from getting into the end zone, but time ran off the clock at the expense of a 24-yard field goal, making it a 16-6 game with 4:24 to go.

Mayfield completed some nice passes to get the Browns into long field goal range, setting up a 3rd-and-9 from the 24 yard line. A quarterback scramble got a first down. Two incomplete passes set up a third down, but Jedrick Wills jumped offsides making it 3rd-and-15 with 2:03 to go. Mayfield lasered a ball into the hands of Landry in the end zone amidst coverage, but he took a big shot to the back of the neck to jar the ball loose. Parkey came on to try to kick a field goal into the tough end of the wind from 37 yards out — this time it was wide left, thanks to the wind, ending Cleveland’s hopes of a last-ditch comeback.

The Raiders ran out the clock from there.

Up Next

The Browns are on the bye next week. After the bye, they will play at home on Sunday, November 15, in their Week 10 match-up against the Houston Texans. The game will be at 1:00 PM ET.

Quick Hitter Stats

• QB Baker Mayfield: 12-of-25 for 122 yards. 6 rushes, 29 yards.
• RB Kareem Hunt: 14 carries, 66 yards. 2 catches, 7 yards.
• WR Rashard Higgins: 1 catch, 14 yards.
• WR Jarvis Landry: 4 catches, 52 yards.
• DE Olivier Vernon: 2 sacks.

Quick Hitter Notes

• The Raiders dominated the time of possession, with 38 minutes to the Browns’ 22 minutes.
• Cleveland allowed drives of 10, 16, 12, 15, and 13 plays. Three of those drives were over 8 minutes of length. The defense gave up several fourth-down conversions, and just could not stop the bleeding from a physical standpoint.
• Despite that, it was still a low-scoring game. Therefore, one of the key points was near the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Raiders scored the first touchdown of the game, so it was up to Cleveland to match. Baker Mayfield fired a pass to an open David Njoku for what would’ve been a first down, and he dropped it. If he hadn’t, the drive continues, and Cleveland would no doubt have been in four-down territory.
• When you compare the list of missed opportunities, they stacked up for Cleveland as opposed to the Raiders. Harrison Bryant fumbled early on. Jarvis Landry couldn’t hold on to two touchdown passes (as tough as they my have been). Njoku’s drop. The defense also had a chance to pick up a Derek Carr fumble, but didn’t get it.
• I don’t think this was a bad game for Mayfield. Despite the meh stat line, from the eye test and the elements, he threw some good balls, and probably had about 6 dropped passes when you add them up.
• Myles Garrett was banged up, reducing one of Cleveland’s only threats on defense. The Browns need to get healthy after the bye and hope they can get Garrett, Nick Chubb, and Wyatt Teller back.
• It’s amazing how Cleveland has either scored 7 points or less, or 32 points or more, in all 8 of their games this year; nothing in between.