OT rules are news to kicker McCrane
Before attempting a 29-yard field goal late in overtime at the Coliseum on Sunday, Raiders kicker Matt McCrane went up to long-snapper Trent Sieg with a question.
“I said, ‘Is this to win it?’ ” McCrane said.
Making his NFL debut after signing with the Raiders last week, McCrane apparently wasn’t fully versed in NFL overtime rules. Sieg informed McCrane that the kick was, in fact, to win the game.
“I looked at (him) like, ‘Why did you even tell me?’ ” McCrane said.
It didn’t matter. McCrane made the kick to give the Raiders a 45-42 win over the Browns, atoning for two misses and ending his first career game on a high note.
The Raiders lost Mike Nugent to a hip injury last week and signed McCrane, who’d spent the preseason with the Cardinals after signing as an undrafted free agent from Kansas State. He made 3 of 5 fieldgoal attempts Sunday, converting twice from 29 yards and once from 44 and missing from 47 and 50, the latter early in the overtime period.
“I reset whether it’s a miss or a make and move on to the next kick,” McCrane said.
Before his overtime miss, McCrane said, quarterback Derek Carr told the Raiders’ coaches: “We believe in him.” After his winner, McCrane said he sought out Carr to say thanks.
“Imagine how he felt before that last kick — probably felt pretty bad,” Carr said. “For him to go make that kick and for us to be able to celebrate, he’s the hero, man. He’s the hero.” Debatable call: Oakland’s game-tying drive in regulation was made possible by a review that overturned what originally was ruled a first-down run by Cleveland running back Carlos Hyde with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter. The Browns instead were left facing 4thand-1 and punted.
Hyde said he was surprised by the reversal: “Yeah, I was. They called a first down, then I don’t know what the hell they saw.” Big play: Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley picked up his first NFL interception on a first-quarter pass by Baker Mayfield and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.
“It was just a gift,” said Conley, the Raiders’ 2017 firstround pick. “Marcus (Gilchrist) made a good play on the ball and it just came right to me.”
Conley said his “eyes got real wide” and he thought of his son as he ran for the end zone.
“I felt like I did all of that for him,” Conley said. “That moment, I just thought about him.” New tackle: Right tackle Donald Penn exited a second straight game with injury. Penn left the Miami game with concussion symptoms. He left Sunday’s game with a leg injury.
Rookie Brandon Parker replaced Penn and played the rest of the game, meaning the Raiders’ tackles were their first-round (Kolton Miller) and third-round picks in this year’s draft.
Left guard Kelechi Osemele also limped off the field late and had ice on his left knee afterward. The Raiders did not provide an update on Osemele. One more: Carr ended his postgame news conference with a news drop. Mentioning his two kids, the quarterback said: “And we have No. 3 on the way. My wife’s going to kill me for telling you.”