The Raiders traveled to Cleveland intent on ending a losing streak that had reached 12 games, and 16 games in a row played in the Eastern time zone. This game felt that these streaks were indeed going to end, only to see the Raiders eventually hand the win over to Cleveland.
Oakland Raiders – Raiders Fall Again in Cleveland
The Raiders this season have had a real difficult time stopping the run and getting off the field on third down. Significant improvements were made in both areas as the Browns were held to a total of 39 yards rushing and only able to convert on two of 12 third downs. Said veteran safety Charles Woodson on the difference in third down efficiency “We did put a little bit of emphasis on third down when we started this week. We did a really good job on third downs. It was just some other parts of the game that faltered today.” Time of possession favoured the Raiders as well as they held the ball for 34:52 compared to 25:08 for the Browns.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, the ‘other parts of the game’ that Woodson alluded to prevented them from getting their first win of the year. Head Coach Tony Sparano said about the game “We didn’t play smart football all the time and any time you come on the road and you turn the ball over three times, and you have a couple of penalties that we had out there today in some of those situations, you’re not going to win.” Those three turnovers resulted in 17 of Cleveland’s 23 points. A botched fake field goal attempt led to a field goal, and a fumble by Carr as he was attempting to scramble led to a touchdown. Nothing hurt the team more though than a fumble by Darren McFadden as the team was marching late in the third quarter to either tie the game 9-9 or to take the lead in what so far had been a hard fought defensive struggle. McFadden had been running the ball well and the Raiders seemed poised to go in for the go ahead score.
The game versus the Browns did see the return of cornerback DJ Hayden. Hayden played five plays on defense and a dozen on special teams. “I thought DJ did a good job in the game. He competed hard yesterday and he really played fast. Little by little, we’ll get him more involved” said Sparano after the game.
The question now is when will the Raiders win this season? The remaining schedule certainly does not seem favourable with games against Seattle, Denver, San Diego, and Kansas City over the next four weeks. These four teams have a combined record of 19 wins and 10 losses, and of course include both Super Bowl teams from last year.
Rookie quarterback Derek Carr seems to be gearing up for the challenge saying, “This is the defending Super Bowl champs at their house with great players all over the field. It’ll be a challenge and something I’m looking forward to.”
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