Browns vs. Raiders: 5 Questions with Just Blog Baby
By Thomas Moore
September 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts (10) is congratulated by tight end Mychal Rivera (81) and running back Latavius Murray (28) after a 12-yard touchdown catch during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Ravens 37-33. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Raiders come to Cleveland on Sunday looking to break a few streaks.
The Raiders have lost 11 consecutive road games, and 19 of 20 away from home. Oakland, which beat Baltimore last week, has also not won back-to-back games in almost three years.
This will be the second consecutive year that the Browns will host the Raiders. Cleveland won last year, 23-13, and has won six of the past eight meetings between the two clubs.
To learn a bit more about the Raiders we reached out to Chase Ruttig, editor of Just Blog Baby, for a virtual Q&A on the Silver and Black.
Question: Where does Sunday’s win against Baltimore rank amongst Raiders games played in the last decade? Was it a fluke or the start of a successful run?
Chase: Sunday’s win ranks up there with the few wins the Raiders have had in the post-Al Davis era, but I still would put it behind the three-game home winning streak the team had to end 2014. It was a good win over a quality opponent in the Ravens, who as you guys likely know are always a contender in the AFC North, but it was still an early season win at home, against a team that has spent the last two weeks on the West Coast to begin the season while also missing Terrell Suggs, whose absence was obviously a major factor.
As for if it was a fluke or not, I will say that the Raiders got some good fortune in the win, scoring on their first drive on a 68-yard touchdown before the Ravens fumbled on their first offensive play right after. Derek Carr also got a bit lucky that the defense held the Ravens to a field goal after that potential game-ending interception he threw with the game tied late. However, the Raiders did drive down the field to earn that win and it was a good momentum builder for this young team. We will see if it leads to a run of wins now that Oakland is on the road as I do think these next two games are winnable.
Question: What did Derek Carr show you against the Ravens? Is he the franchise quarterback?
Chase: Carr showed that he has the ability to make big throws and lead the team to a win in a shootout, something that is very important in today’s NFL. In a game where the defense wasn’t doing much to stop Joe Flacco, Carr drove the Raiders to touchdowns to give them two 10-point leads and, after nearly losing the game, showed the composure to pull off a game-winning drive against a tough Baltimore team that shut down Peyton Manning in Denver in Week 1.
I know the jury is out and should be out on Carr as a franchise quarterback, but at the very least he is a quality starter with a ton of upside as a second-year passer. With some of the quarterback issues in the league that is all you can ask for, and so far Carr has shown that he could very well be the quarterback that can lead the Raiders back to success in the AFC.
Question: Will the Raiders running backs run all over the Browns defense?
Chase: Based on the Browns struggles in stopping the run and the talent of Latavius Murray, I would say yes to this question. The Raiders haven’t had a chance to establish the run against dominant defensive fronts to start the season, so playing against a suspect Cleveland run defense I would predict there will be plenty of running plays called by Oakland to try to overcome the road game disadvantage, which could be a problem for the Browns in stopping an emerging young talent in Murray.
Question: What is a weak spot for the Raiders on either offense or defense the Browns can look to exploit?
Chase: The Raiders biggest weakness is their secondary, which unfortunately for Cleveland will mean that Josh McCown may have to lead them to victory with his arm. I feel that the Browns biggest weaknesses are at quarterback and wideout for this game, so it will definitely be an interesting matchup seeing how McCown attacks a Raiders secondary that could be the worst in the league.
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On offense the Raiders biggest weakness is Austin Howard on the offensive line, as he replaced Menelik Watson, who is out for the season. Other than that, Oakland has solid talent everywhere else in their offensive group, so exploiting Howard could be a key to the Cleveland defense.
Question: Score prediction and major storyline from the game.
Chase: The continued emergence of Derek Carr and the Raiders wideouts. Carr got the ball to Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree successfully in Week 2, with both receivers getting 100 yards on the day. Against Cleveland I can see another big day for the passing game, as the Browns have been banged up this week in the secondary based on the injury reports, which bodes well for Carr being able to find his new and improved weapons for another week.
I hate predicting road wins as the Raiders have been dreadful away from home in recent years, but with the Browns quarterback turmoil this is a game I think that the Silver and Black can take. It will be another close game that I think will have plenty of scoring, but Carr will show that he is a quarterback that is coming into his own with another fourth quarter to seal a victory in Cleveland: Raiders 24, Browns 21.