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Browns go down fighting to Raiders, lose 27-20

By Thomas Moore

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Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Oakland Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

We want to say that we are surprised by what transpired at FirstEnergy Stadium between the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

But since these are the Browns, we would be lying if we tried to sell that.

The Browns were a dispirited team for much of the game in falling to Oakland by a final score of 27-20, but almost made up for it in the fourth quarter.

After falling behind by 17 points just 30 seconds into the final period quarterback Josh McCown rallied the Browns, first leading a drive that culminated in a 41-yard field goal by Travis Coons and then hitting wide receiver Travis Benjamin with a four-yard touchdown pass.

Suddenly, the Browns were within a touchdown with 6:28 left to play and need just a defensive stop to have a chance to win.

After not doing much all game the defense came up with that stop, forcing the Raiders into a three-and-out.

But, remember, these are the Browns we’re talking about, so Benjamin fumbled the ensuing punt, with the Raiders recovering.

Called upon to save the day once again, the defense forced another three-and-out and the offense took, needing to drive 98 yards in a little more than two minutes to tie the game.

McCown and the offense almost pulled it off, too, as McCown hit Andrew Hawkins, Duke Johnson, Marlon Moore, Brian Hartline and Shaugn Draughn with passes, taking the Browns to a third-and-14 at the Oakland 35-yard line.

Just when it seemed as if McCown was going to be able to lead a touchdown drive and quiet the growing chants of “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny” echoing throughout the stadium, Charles Woodson intercepted a pass intended for Benjamin at the Oakland 12-yard line to seal the Browns’ fate.

Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) stiff arms Cleveland Browns inside linebacker Tank Carder (59) during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Raiders won 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone will want to blame McCown for the loss, of course, because many fans came into the game looking to boo McCown rather than cheer for the Browns.

While McCown deserves his share of the blame, the reality is that this was a team loss across the board.

Consider that:

  • For the third consecutive week, the Browns run defense was horrible. This time, the Browns allowed 155 rushing yards to the Raiders, bringing their season average to 158.3 yards per game allowed – which is somehow worse than 2014, when the Browns were last in the NFL against the run. (But it was “only a couple of big plays,” we’re sure.)
  • The Browns did not sack Oakland quarterback Derek Carr (and barely touched him at all), nor did they force him into a turnover. Carr game into the game having taken 19 sacks and thrown six interceptions on the road in his NFL career.
  • The Browns had no answer for wide receiver Amari Cooper, who finished with eight receptions for 134 yards.
  • The Browns had no answer for running back Latavius Murray, who rushed 26 times for 139 yards.
  • The Browns only rushed for 39 yards and 2.8 yards per carry, with Isaiah Crowell carrying 10 times for 39 yards and Duke Johnson rushing four times for three yards.

OK, we’ll stop, as we’re sure you’ve had as much of this as we have.

As for McCown, his numbers will look respectable in the morning – 28-of-49 for 341 yards, two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 83.8 – but that doesn’t tell the entire story, because there were also the two interceptions and the five sacks.

It’s just that while McCown didn’t look bad – the Browns took care of that with the all-brown uniforms – he didn’t look good, either. He basically played just well enough for the Browns to lose.

Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; A dejected Cleveland Browns fan after the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Raiders won 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

It is also a small sample size, but the offense just seems to take forever to move down the field with McCown. The four scoring drives against the Raiders took 13 plays, 13 plays, nine plays and six plays (once the Browns hurried up); there are no quick-strike scoring drives from McCown, apparently.

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But here is something else to consider this week as you hear the calls for the Browns to go back to Johnny Manziel.

For all the talk about how “dynamic” the offense was with Manziel at the controls, here are a few stats to ponder from the two games that Manziel played:

  • The offense averaged 297.5 yards per game, which ranked 30th in the NFL before today.
  • The offense converted 44 percent of its third downs, which ranked 11th in the NFL before today.
  • The offense averaged 19 points per game, which ranked 23rd in the NFL before today.

So what did the McCown-led offense do today?

  • Put of 355 yards of offense
  • Convert 50 percent on third down
  • Score 20 points

Basically, it was the same stat line that Manziel put up, the Browns just didn’t pull out the win.

Because if they did, well, they wouldn’t be the Browns then, would they?

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