Tag: Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns

Raiders hold out LB Will Compton, who taunted the Browns COVID-19 outbreak

Will Compton taunted the Browns and the NFL for moving the game. Now he’s sitting out for personal reasons.

The Las Vegas Raiders will be without linebacker Will Compton for Monday afternoon’s matchup with the Browns in Cleveland. The Raiders are holding out the veteran backup for personal reasons, not injury-related. It’s a deliciously ironic twist of fate for Compton.

Compton was one of the most vocal Raiders in complaining about the postponement of the game from Saturday to Monday. He has only been with the Raiders for one week, signing on December 11th and appearing strictly on special teams in Las Vegas’ 48-9 loss to the Chiefs in Week 14.

As the popular meme theme goes, a story in two acts:

Earlier on Monday, the Raiders lost top CB Nate Hobbs after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Browns PFF grades for Week 8 defined by dropped passes, bad run defense

The PFF grades definitely pass the eye test this week

The Pro Football Focus film analysts had to do a lot of performance balancing for the Cleveland Browns in the team’s Week 8 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

On the one hand, the offensive line performed exceptionally in pass protection. On the other hand, the run blocking was ordinary. At wide receiver, the Browns did a good job at getting open but a terrible job catching the ball.

The top three PFF grades on offense, as expected, went to the offensive line. LG Joel Bitonio topped the list at 87.1, followed by RG Chris Hubbard (79.0) and RT Jack Conklin (70.1). QB Baker Mayfield (69.0) and Kareem Hunt (68.1) rounded out the top five on offense.

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Hunt and WR Jarvis Landry had strong all-around grades lowered by dropped passes. TE Harrison Bryant earned a lofty mark as well but his costly fumble sunk his mark to 51.5.

On defense, just one player topped an 80 grade. That would be DE Porter Gustin (81.4), who got an increased role with Myles Garrett hobbled with his knee injury. Fellow DE Olivier Vernon scored his best mark of the season with a 79.4, a score validated by the eye test and stat sheet (two sacks). CB Kevin Johnson, LB B.J. Goodson and CB Terrance Mitchell round out the top five.

The bottom of the defense comes from the up-the-gut defenders at all levels. LB Mack Wilson earned an absurdly low 27.2 mark, one of the worst grades for any player all season. DT Larry Ogunjobi was little better with his 30.0.

 

 

Browns offensive line pitched a shutout vs. the Raiders

The Browns OL did not allow a single QB pressure to the Raiders

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Not much went right for the Cleveland Browns in Sunday’s dreary 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. One thing that did: Cleveland’s pass protection.

The Browns offensive line had a stellar day in pass protection against the Raiders. They kept Baker Mayfield safe and sound in the rain and windy and soggy field conditions. Las Vegas did not register a sack of Mayfield in the game.

In fact, the Raiders didn’t record a single pressure or hurry on Mayfield. Per Pro Football Focus, it was the best performance by an offensive line in pass protection since 2013, ironically enough also by the Browns.

It didn’t lead to a win and the offense did not play well, but don’t blame the pass protection.

 

 

By the Numbers: Breaking down the Browns loss to the Raiders

Breaking down the Browns loss to the Raiders By the Numbers

The most important numbers are 16 and 6. That was the final score in Sunday’s matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders, with the visitors from the AFC West topping the good guys in orange and brown.

Here’s how they got to those two numbers in the blustery, yucky weather conditions at FirstEnergy Stadium, as told by the numbers:

0 – Takeaways by the Browns defense

0 – Sacks allowed by the Browns offensive line

1 – Punt forced by the Browns defense in the last two weeks

1 – Red zone touchdown by the Raiders offense, in four attempts

2 – Baker Mayfield passes that hit Jarvis Landry in both hands in the end zone. The Browns did not score a touchdown.

3 – Third down conversions by the Browns offense, in 10 attempts

6 – Offensive possessions for the Browns, a season-low in the entire NFL in 2020

6 – Dropped passes by Browns receivers, accounting for almost half of Mayfield’s 13 incompletions

7 – Penalties by the Browns, costing them 59 yards

14 – Total first downs from the Browns offense

41- Rushing yards for Raiders QB Derek Carr, nearly doubling his season total

47 – Browns offensive plays, a season-low total

53 – MPH peak wind gust during the first quarter

101 – Net passing yards for the Raiders, the lowest total for a team that won this season through Week 8 (Miami also won in Week 8 with just 90)

122 – Passing yards for Mayfield, on 12-of-25 passing

208 – Raiders rushing yards

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Kevin Stefanski frustrated with Browns’ time of possession, run defense in loss to Raiders

Coach Stefanski was not happy with the Browns run defense or ability to string together drives on offense

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Raise your hand if you were angry with the Cleveland Browns offensive drops, inability to sustain drives and soft run defense in Sunday’s loss to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders.

Coach Kevin Stefanski raised his hand, too, just like everyone else rooting for the Browns.

Stefanski expressed his disgust for the dropped passes and missed opportunities on offense right away in his postgame press conference. One of his big points was how badly the Raiders dominated the time of possession. Las Vegas held the ball for 37:43, over 15 minutes longer than the Browns offense.

“Yeah, very disappointing,” Stefanski said when asked about the discrepancy between the offenses. “Time of possession is a great team stat. Offensively, you have to possess it by sustaining drives, making first downs on the third down or finding ways to just get first downs. Obviously, we did not do that on offense. Defensively, I do not know the exact numbers, but they were much better than us on third down and the sustained drives.”

The coach was right. The Raiders converted 8-of-14 third-down attempts, while the Browns struggled to make just 3-of-10. Cleveland’s run defense was the primary culprit, incapable of getting stops and allowing Raiders RB Josh Jacobs to reliably churn out yards on the ground.

Stefanski noted they tried some adjustments schematically, but the Raiders were just better at execution.

“You can play some safeties lower or you can move the front, but we were just getting knocked back so that is something we will look at,” Stefanski said. “Ultimately, we have to stop the run, whether we play shell or single high. They late in that game were running it, we knew that they were running it and we were not able to stop it so that is something that we will look at long and hard to find a way to get better.”

 

 

Studs and duds from the Browns Week 8 loss to the Raiders

Last week it was hard to find many duds in the win over Cincinnati. This week, the “studs” column is a dairy farm with no bull.

A 16-6 loss in a windy, wintry mix isn’t what anyone in Cleveland wanted from the Browns as they enter the bye week. But that’s the cold reality of what happened on Sunday in the lethargic loss to the visiting Las Vegas Raiders.

Last week it was hard to find many duds in the win over Cincinnati. This week, the “studs” column is a dairy farm with no bull.

Here are the duds and a couple of Browns who didn’t play poorly in the Week 8 loss to Las Vegas.

Baker Mayfield: Browns ‘not anywhere close to where we want to be’

The Browns QB was not happy after the team’s sloppy loss to the Raiders

Baker Mayfield did not have a great day in the Browns’ 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. His supporting cast gave the sprightly young quarterback no help, either.

Mayfield was the first Browns player to face the media (via Zoom) after the unsightly loss on Sunday, and he was not happy. Mayfield conveyed that the entire locker room was displeased at the performance entering the bye week.

When asked how to assess the team’s first half of the season, Mayfield was honest.

“Not anywhere close to where we want to be. We have a 5-3 record. Should be a lot better,” Mayfield stated. “We believe that, and that’s why our locker room is (expletive) off. We believe in this locker room and we’re going to continue to get better. Hopefully get on a streak after this bye week, get healthy and focus on getting better.”

The Browns host the 1-6 Houston Texans in Week 10. Houston is off this week.

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Myles Garrett will have MRI on injured knee on Monday

Garrett said he “took a shot” early in the loss to the Raiders

The bad news just keeps coming from the Cleveland Browns and the 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Defensive end Myles Garrett will undergo an MRI on his injured knee on Monday after being limited throughout Sunday’s game.

Garrett indicated after the game he “took a shot” to the knee early on and it bothered him the rest of the day. Garrett had little visible impact on the game. His streak of six consecutive games with a sack ended.

After the game, Garrett said he will play in Week 10 as long as he can run, though he did offer the caveat that it is the medical staff’s decision. The Browns have a bye in Week 9.

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Browns vs. Raiders recap: Score, stats, stars of the game and more

The Raiders beat the Browns in a Week 8 game defined by bad weather and worse offensive play

The Cleveland Browns hosted the Las Vegas Raiders with a chance to take a commanding lead in the AFC Wild Card race. Instead, the Week 8 game turned into an all-around ugly affair that will not be any more enjoyable upon film review.

Both offenses struggled with the inclement weather and questionable calls from the officials. Browns QB Baker Mayfield was better than his final stat line indicates, but it still wasn’t pretty. Cleveland’s defense could not make plays or create takeaways against the Raiders predictable offense, either.

 

Expert picks are divided on Browns vs. Raiders

Expert picks are divided on Browns vs. Raiders picks

The expert NFL game pickers are pretty divided on who will win when the Browns host the Raiders on Sunday. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the forecasts for a windy day at FirstEnergy Stadium.

CBS has a panel of eight prognosticators. Five of the eight pickers chose the Browns to win the game, with three opting for Las Vegas.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com rolled with the Raiders. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News made almost exactly the same pick and rationale behind it, too.

Pro Football Talk from NBC had both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith taking the Browns at home.

At ESPN, they offer dueling picks from the beat writers for each team. Jake Trotter picked his Browns while Paul Gutierrez chose the Raiders he covers.

As for me? I wrote this for RealGM:

Browns 41, Raiders 30

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