Cleveland Browns score mediocre grades heading into Christmas

Cleveland Browns Defensive Grade

For the better part of this season, the Cleveland Browns defense has significantly outplayed the offense and kept the team in games. That was certainly the case on Monday against the Raiders, despite a slow start.

On the first drive of the game for Las Vegas, Derek Carr and company marched down the field 58-yards on 11 plays and got the scoring going with a touchdown. After the PAT, the Raiders led 7-0 and it seemed like this was gearing up to be a blowout.

However, the Browns defense stepped up after that, forcing Las Vegas to punt on their next two possessions before giving up a field goal with under a minute left in the first half. In the second half, the Browns held court and kept the offense in position to try and win the game.

This is how the Raiders faired offensively in the second half:

Punt, fumble, field goal, punt, interception, field goal. Those two field goals, especially the one with no time remaining as it sailed through the uprights, proved to be the difference makers. The Cleveland defense held the Raiders offense to under 20 points and did everything they could to ensure a victory.

The Browns sacked Carr twice on Monday, as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Sheldon Day, Joe Jackson, and Tommy Togiai all recorded a half-sack. Greedy Williams picked off Carr late, seemingly putting the game out of reach, but that was not the case.

Grade: B-