Curve ball handled
Raiders’ defense saves season with victory in rescheduled game at Browns
The Raiders were “freaking out,” in Maxx Crosby's words, last Friday when the coaches told them to hold off on loading the team buses to the airport.
Their game at the Browns, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was being pushed back two days because of the home team's COVID-19 outbreak and the Raiders were not happy about it. Some players voiced their objects. Others took to social media to air them out.
It took the coaches huddling up the players to calm them down before they sent them home to take a new day off with the new schedule.
“Who is going to handle the curve ball the best,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley asked the team, according to Crosby.
Bradley's defense, it turns out, handled the curve ball the best. It was the best overall unit on the field Monday night at Firstenergy Stadium, leading the Raiders to a 16-14 victory over the Browns to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson booted through a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired after the defense forced a key threeand-out two minutes of game time before to give the team a chance at the late comeback.
Las Vegas now sits 7-7 on the year, one game out of the AFC'S wild-card spot, with a Week 16 game hosting Denver scheduled for next Sunday.
“This is a big step, on the road, no matter what it is,” Crosby said. “We had some guys out, they had some guys out and we had to win. We figured it out.”
Cleveland did virtually nothing on offense until the final 20 minutes of the game, when they scored a pair of touchdowns including a 6-yard pass from Nick Mullens to Harrison Bryant on a fourth-down play with 3:45 to play. But that was only the drive where the Browns went all the way down the field on the Raiders' defense.
The first touchdown, a 4-yard run by Nick Chubb, came on a short field in the third quarter after Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-koramoah stripsacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr at Las Vegas' 47-yard line.
Chubb got into rhythm in the second half but finished well below his season average with only 4 yards per carry (91 yards on 23 attempts). Mullens was much less explosive, managing only 147 yards on 20-for-30 passing.
And yes, he was a thirdstring quarterback pressed into action after positive virus
tests by Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum. Cleveland's top two quarterbacks were two of the biggest names, alongside defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and wide receiver Jarvis Landry, out of a group of around 20 players ineligible for the game after not testing negative twice before kickoff.
But the delay gave the Raiders' defense its own COVID-19 hurdle, as starting nickel cornerback Nate Hobbs was ruled out after a positive test to further eat into an area where the team was already short on depth. Reserves Brandon Facyson and Keisean Nixon stepped into expanded roles at cornerback as a key part of the defensive effort.
Las Vegas held Cleveland to 236 total yards.
“They had some good drives and did some good jobs there in the fourth quarter, but our defense held when they had to and forced a punt and gave us a chance to win it,” Raiders
interim coach Rich Bisaccia said. “I'd like to think we're just going to keep playing until the bitter end and see what happens.”
The Raiders had to fight until the bitter end because the offense had another inconsistent game. It scored a touchdown on their opening drive for only the fourth time this season, a five-yard pass from Carr to Bryan Edwards along the end zone sideline on a third-down play, but didn't get another the whole game.
Carr added a second giveaway late when Browns cornerback Greedy Williams intercepted a deep shot intended for receiver Zay Jones with three minutes to play and the Raiders trailing 14-13. It looked like an overthrown pass, but both Carr and Jones hinted that the pick was on the receiver with the former declining a chance to elaborate further on what went wrong.
“It was heartbreaking,”
Jones said. “I was running down there as fast as I could, laid out for the ball, their guy made a great play. To be honest, I was a little defeated. I came back to the sideline frustrated and Derek grabbed me and said, `I'm coming right back to you and you're going to win this game.'”
But the Raiders needed their defense to get a stop to even have a chance. It looked unlikely when Chubb broke a couple tackles to pick up five yards on second down to set up a 3rd-and-3.
But Crosby said the Raiders knew the Browns would go back to Chubb on third down, and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins was able to do something about it. He shed a block and planted Chubb at the line of scrimmage.
“He's one of the best runstopping guys in the league,” Crosby said of Hankins. “He always comes up in big times, big moments, running downfield on screens. The guy is 340 pounds, damn near, and the effort he plays with is insane. That goes for our whole group. Our guys are playing their tail off and we gave the offense another chance.”
Jones had a “reignited fire” when the offense got back on the field at the Cleveland 20-yard line with 2 minutes to play. Carr lived up to his promise, looking for his top receiver on the night three times on the final drive to get into field goal range.
The longest reception of the three, a 17-yarder, was wiped out by a holding call but Jones still hauled in two catches for 27 yards within the final two minutes. The big plays late overshadowed not only the interception but a couple drops earlier in the game.
“I knew I needed him, and I wanted him to know not only do I need you but I believe in you,” Carr said of Jones. “Super proud, and I'm super happy for him.”
Jones' last reception was for 15 yards down to the Cleveland's 30-yard line, sending Carr rushing to the line to spike the ball and set up Carlson. As far as believing in teammates, few are more trusted than Carlson.
He had already both of his prior field goal attempts on the night, from 40 and 48 yards out. Carlson then kicked two more right through the uprights with the game on the line — the Browns called timeout on the first one in an attempt to ice him — for his third gamewinner of the year.
“Daniel has proven it over and over again to me,” Carr said. “Everyone wants to give me the comeback wins and all this kind of stuff, good job. And I'm like, `It doesn't matter if he doesn't make that kick.'”
And he never has a chance if the Raiders' defensive front doesn't stand up to the challenge of a short-yardage situation against one of the best running backs in the league. Chubb beat it a few times, but the Raiders' defense was the force that carried the team to a pivotal win.
Cleveland had only 84 yards at halftime. The defensive players were the ones protesting the game's rescheduling the loudest on Friday, as veterans K.J. Wright and Casey Hayward called out the league on Twitter.
But they shook off their frustration fast and didn't let it affect it their play on the new date. Curve ball handled.
“We could have felt bad for ourselves, had another excuse for this and that and came out flat, but it's a testament to the guys,” Crosby said. “Everyone in the locker room stayed locked in, everyone took care of themselves and we came ready to play. It was awesome to see.”