The Cleveland Browns versus the Las Vegas Raiders? A duo of 2-8-0 teams? You can bet that outside the stadium, there would be plenty of very cheap tickets for sale. You know, buy one - get three free type of deals. Geez….
RELATED: BROWNS VS. RAIDERS WEEK 12 FINAL SCORE
It would be a game that every Shedeur Sanders fan has been waiting for - his first start at quarterback. All of us as Browns fans hope their prognosis is correct, that he is perceived as a cross between Michael Vick, Tom Brady, and Johnny Unitas, all rolled into one sensational player who has been kept under wraps all season. Let him out of the barn and allow him to take off.
Any type of game Sanders would have in this game will be better than his first game, in which he stunk up the place, complete with a QB rating of 13.5. The Raiders were a perfect opponent for Sanders’ debut in that they weren’t a good team at all.
At the final gun (which, by the way, they don’t use a starter pistol anymore), the Browns used a dominating defense and a mild offense to thump the Raiders 24-10.
So who played well for the Browns? Who didn’t?
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Defensive line - All game long, the Browns were in the Raiders’ offensive backfield on passing downs. Las Vegas LT Stone Forsythe had no strategy for how to stop DE Myles Garrett despite a tight end stationed over on his side for much of the game. Garrett had three sacks and six QB hits.
DT Maliek Collins had 2.5 sacks on his own, along with three QB hits. In all, pressure came all game. Others with sack numbers: LB Devin Bush (1), DE Cam Thomas (1), DT Mike Hall (0.5), DT Shelby Harris (0.5), LB Jerome Baker (0.5), and DE Isaiah McGuire (1). Garrett had a nice strip sack that caused a fumble, to which Collins pounced on the loose ball. In all, this group had 10 sacks against a very inept offensive line. The offense had plenty of issues in the second half, but this group made certain to keep the lead intact.
DE Myles Garrett - Okay, so Garrett gets mentioned twice. He set a new Browns franchise record for the most sacks in a single season, breaking his own record of 16. He now has a league-leading 18 sacks, and it’s only Week 12. Can he beat the NFL single-season record of 22.5 sacks owned by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and the Giants’ Michael Strahan? Stay tuned.
Punt and kickoff coverage - Las Vegas could not move at all on kick coverages because guys were already down, ready to make tackles. And the Browns punted quite a bit (8) so there were plenty of opportunities for the Raiders to generate a runback. Nope. Vegas had a 5.0-yard punt return average and 26.3 yards per kickoff average. Credit goes to Mohammad Diabate, Rex Sunahara, Myles Harden, Jerome Baker, Blake Whiteheart, Rayshawn Jenkins, D’Angelo Ross, and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. Nice work.
Carson Schwesinger #49 (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Carson Schwesinger #49 (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Getty Images
LB Carson Schwesinger - This kid seems to be everywhere. As the first period was winding down, RB Ashton Jeanty caught a short pass in the right flats and gained 25 yards before Schwesinger came from his backside in pursuit to take him down. Early in the second quarter, Schwesinger met Jeanty for a two-yard loss as he came up and sealed the middle gap. With 5:12 left in the second quarter on a second-and-18, again Schwesinger filled the middle and took down Jeanty after a short gain. He stopped a key third-down play in the fourth quarter by tackling TE Ian Thomas. With six minutes remaining, QB Geno Smith scrambled on a third-and-11 as Schwesinger took him down after gaining nine. He did miss a tackle in the third quarter. Led all defenders with 11 total tackles.
Rushing defense - The Raiders tried to establish some sort of running game, but failed miserably. Las Vegas only gained 60 yards on 21 attempts. This forced their offense to throw the ball often, which resulted in two turnovers and 10 sacks. DTs Mason Graham, Collins, and Harris were stout up the gut all game. 2.9 yards per carry average is a sad day indeed.
RB Dylan Sampson - Breakout game for the rookie. When Quinshon Judkins went out with an injury, Sampson took the opportunity to show that he is also a capable guy. He busted out that pass from QB Shedeur Sanders, found his hole, and just took off like a K-9 was after him. Showed off his speed for certain in the 66-yard scamper. Nice 26-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Seven carries for 23 yards plus led all receivers with 59 yards.
Ridiculous streak broken - When the new Browns entered the NFL in 1999, quarterbacks who made their first career start were 0-17.
Tight end defense - The Raiders were known for their tight end production. Not today. Starter Brock Bowers only had six catches for 55 yards and no scores, and Ian Thomas netted just 36 yards on four receptions and blanked as well. With 8:04 left in the game, Thomas grabbed a short pass over the middle, and instantly, four Browns defenders jumped on him. The linebacker crew of Schwesinger, Bush, and Diabate did a great job of keeping these two from destroying a great defensive effort.
Offensive line - Almost every passing down provided a clean pocket for Sanders. He was sacked only once. RT Jack Conklin and RG Wyatt Teller opened a huge hole for Sampson, and with a clean block on the second level by TE Harold Fannin, Sampson had nothing but green in front of him. With Judkins in the Wildcat in the first quarter, LG Joel Bitonio pulled and took out LB Elandon Roberts as both C Ethan Pocic and Teller had gone to the second level off the snap. Whiteheart led Judkins in the hole from the fullback position and took on S Jeremy Chinn as Judkins plowed into the end zone for the touchdown. Sanders was flushed a few times, but overall, it was a clean pocket on most passing downs.
QB Bernie Kosar - It appears that the new liver that was transplanted into one of Cleveland’s favorite all-time players recently is being accepted nicely by his system. Praying for you, Bernie!
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Offensive showing - Yes, the Browns scored 24 points, which is a victory for this group to get over the 20-point threshold. A Greg Larvadain punt return of 44 yards gave Cleveland a first down at the Raiders’ 13-yard line, so no big drive with the Browns’ first points. This offense only had four big plays: the 52-yard catch by Isaiah Bond in the first quarter, a 15-yard completion from QB Shedeur Sanders to TE Harold Fannin in Quarter 3, a 26-yard run by Sampson early in the fourth quarter, and the Sampson TD run for 66 yards. That was the key offensive output for the game. This offense had to punt eight times.
They gifted Las Vegas an interception plus a fumble. An entire game of four quarters only produced 11 first downs, 64 rushing yards, 16 fewer minutes of possession, and went 3-12 on third down efficiency. Second half drives: punt, punt, FG, TD, punt, punt. Had the ball on a third-and-nine with 4:13 left in the game and ran a one-yard run. Good teams take the offense down the field and never let the other team get the ball back. Las Vegas then scored a touchdown, and only a fumble on their next drive prevented them from a late comeback.
CB Myles Harden - As the Raiders were trying to convert a third-and-18 in the first period, Harden gave a 15-yard cushion to TE Michael Mayer who caught the pass and was then tackled by S Ronnie Hickman to save the first down conversion. In the second quarter, Harden played off WR Tyler Lockett with too much cushion as he gained 14 yards with just 1:35 left before the half, and the Raiders were trying to get into field goal range. With 5:23 in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-two, Jeanty immediately left the backfield and out into the right flats. Harden hesitated, then went towards Jeanty only after he was being thrown the ball instead of coming up on him and getting into his face, seeing that he was wide open. The result was a touchdown.
Just as the third quarter began, the Raiders had a third-and-five as Smith hit Lockett for nine yards with loose coverage by Harden. Two plays later, Smith picked on Harden again, this time a 14-yard completion. Harden had a holding call on a punt return in Quarter 3, which set the offense back.
Lack of receiver production - Isaiah Bond had a catch for 52 yards. Jerry Jeudy caught a ball and rambled for 39 yards before fumbling. In all, the receiver group caught five balls for 110 yards. Combined. Take away these two mammoth catches, and the quad produced 19 total yards. Nine total targets. Maybe there are reception bonuses that the team is trying not to pay. Perhaps there is a flu epidemic going around the room. Possible that all of them have minor injuries. Or maybe the offense just doesn’t want to include any receivers in the game plan. Could it be that none of them are getting any sort of separation? When running backs and tight ends outperform your entire receiver group, is it time to clean house and start over?
P Corey Bojorquez - Had eight punts for the game with two downed inside the 20, but his average was just 39.8 yards per kick. He has been a godsend all year for this stagnant offense, but his overall average needs to increase each game instead of taking a nose-dive. Vegas only returned two punts, which is a good stat.
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Milk Bones – Show me a man who is a good loser, and I’ll show you a man who is playing golf with his boss
KR Greg Larvadain - What a sensational runback. Punter A.J. Cole had a great kick to Cleveland’s 29-yard line. No black jersey was within 15 yards of Larvadain when he gathered in the punt. He hit a hole that opened near the center with a seal block from Donovan McMillon and Chris Edmonds. Then Harden hit CB Decamerion Richardson, who had a great shot at Larvadain. He made TE Mayer miss, then shifted into another gear as Mascarenas-Arnold had engaged and then knocked down the long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer. One man to beat, the punter Cole, who took Larvadain down by tripping him and getting called for a penalty. Larvadain actually ran right into Cole. If he had taken it to the sideline, he would still be running.
QB Shedeur Sanders - Made some good plays and also a few head-scratchers. The long pass to Bond in the first quarter was sensational. He made DE Malcolm Koonce miss, and then heaved it downfield a little off-balance as Bond had a couple of steps on CB Darnay Holmes for the big gain. Very accurate throw to which Bond never had to wait on the ball. On the first play after the Raiders missed a field goal with good field position, Sanders had a good pocket and threw to Jeudy, who was double-covered. He threw it right into the hands of LB Charles Snowden, who then had a great runback as Sanders and Jack Conklin made the tackle. Excellent strike to Jeudy before the fumble in Quarter 2.
Nice touch pass to Fannin on a third-and-12 play midway into Quarter 3 as the talented tight end battled for a converted first down. Sanders was almost picked off again early in the fourth quarter, but luckily was dropped. He had pressure on him the very next play and dumped it to Sampson, who was then tackled for a seven-yard loss instead of tossing the ball out of bounds. With 12:13 left in the game, Sanders overthrew WR Ced Tillman. Finished going 11-20 for 209 yards, a 10.5 yards per catch average, one TD pass, along with one pick, sacked once, one rushing attempt for minus one yard, with a QB rating of 87.3. Sanders wasn’t great, but he was more than good enough to help Cleveland defeat the Raiders.
LB Devin Bush - Had a very productive day with nine tackles, but his sack of Smith midway into the third quarter has to be mentioned. It was a first-and-10 as Las Vegas was driving and at its own 48-yard line. The passing play began as Bush was situated behind DT Harris. Bush paused and then rushed without any interference. As Smith caught sight of Bush, he turned and whack! The play was every defender’s dream.
Who were your winners, losers for the Browns in Week 12? Any milk bones you are giving out?
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