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While it wasn’t pretty, the finish was better than the start for the Las Vegas Raiders as they earned their first home win of the season.
Fresh off a flat performance last week, Las Vegas beat Cleveland, 20-16, Sunday, Sept. 29 from Allegiant Stadium. It was the team’s second straight home game after back-to-back road games to start the new year.
“I don’t want to go backwards but that wasn’t the team that we’re accustomed to seeing,” head coach Antonio Pierce said. “It was a trying week, to be honest. A lot of hoopla stuff — probably started with me and my comments and I apologized to them for that.”
The Raiders entered the game with a host of injuries resulting in seven inactives. Five starters were among those inactive including captains Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby.
“A lot of adversity this week, no doubt about it,” quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “But happy to see how we responded. Friday practice we kind of turned the corner. The overall mood of the team changed and everybody was feeling it again.”
Las Vegas is now 2-2 through the first quarter of the season. Counting his days as interim last season, Pierce has seven wins in 13 tries.
Next chance at improving that record will be Sunday, Oct. 6 in the team’s second chance at a division win, this time on the road in Denver. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
“Two weeks ago after the Baltimore win, my words were trying to build that winning consistency,” Pierce said. “[Build] that winning stamina each and every week and hopefully not riding a roller coaster. But we are going to take this and enjoy this for 24 hours because it’s hard to win in the National Football League.”
Cleveland’s control of the clock in the first quarter gave the visitors the distinct advantage early. Beginning with a long opening drive, the Browns held the ball for 12 minutes and 42 seconds of the 15-minute first frame.
That first drive of the game saw Cleveland convert on third down three times after entering play with the lowest third down conversion rate in the league through the first three games.
They’d be held without one the rest of the way on seven opportunities.
“I think they executed,” Pierce said. “I think as the game plan went on we did a good job of finding guys that are key players in those situations. But more importantly, I think our rush and coverage added up and made the quarterback hold the ball a little bit.”
The first of those eventual seven stops set up a first quarter field goal try that made it 10-0 in favor of the Browns.
“Just gotta score on the next drive,” Minshew said. “These games are long, they’re always long. You’ve got to keep punching, give yourselves chances and have faith in our defense that they’re won’t going to keep giving up points.”
Quarterback Deshaun Watson started the game 9-for-9 before his first incompletion. That first incompletion came on the same drive as his team’s first punt of the game. Four of the next six drives ended in punts for Cleveland.
Las Vegas’ defense settled in after those initial 15 minutes of the game. It produced the game’s first turnover in the third quarter with an interception from safety Tre’Von Moehrig on a bobbled catch from former Raider Amari Cooper.
Amped off the energy of the building, the defense secured its first two sacks of the game on the same third quarter drive. That came after failing to pick up on any of the first five drives by the Browns.
In fact, the Las Vegas defense didn’t give up a score after the field goal that made it 10-0 in the first quarter.
Twenty-six year old first-year player Charles Snowden closed the show with a sack of Watson on fourth down forcing a turnover and sealing the victory.
“It’s interesting how certain guys’ careers work, right?” Pierce said. “Didn’t work out initially, we don’t put him on the [53]-man roster, injuries happen and he gets pulled up. And we’ve asked him to do a lot, from special teams to playing linebacker.”
By the time the Raiders’ offense earned their first first down of the game, the Browns had eight to their credit. It was the team’s first third down conversion that put it in the red zone, a place where the team has been successful more than 71% of the time to start the year.
Receiver Tre Tucker’s rushing touchdown from three yards out to make it 10-7. Soon after kicker Daniel Carlson tied the game at 10 apiece with a 52-yard field goal.
“Last week was disappointing,” Pierce said. “And if there is one thing we can do, we can control our energy and passion and love for the game which I always speak about and that didn’t show up last week. That’s on me but man, this week they took the bull by the horns.”
Carlson would later give the team its first lead of the game as part of 13 unanswered points. Moehrig’s interception gave the offense a chance to run that stretch to 20 straight points.
Running back Alexander Mattison’s 16-yard run while facing a 3rd and 9 put the home team back in the red zone. That set up a 19-yard touchdown run by receiver DJ Turner from a 20-10 lead.
Turner’s touchdown made him the second receiver to score on the ground, serving as the first time its happened in the league in 14 years.
As a team, the Raiders rushed for 152 total yards after compiling 153 total yards through the first three games of the year.
“A lot of pride in that group,” Pierce said. “It has not been the start that we wanted the first three games running the football but credit to these guys. Let’s find the runs that work and let’s keep chipping away at it.”
Keeping track of Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and containing him was a big part of Las Vegas’ success on the ground. In fact, Minshew only touched the ground two times at the hands of Garrett.
Minshew’s time on the grass was far and few as Garrett’s success in the backfield came in the second and fourth quarter.
“Huge roles in our win today,” Minshew said of rookie offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze. “Against a really good defense — a really good defensive front. Those dudes stepped in and didn’t hesitate and did exactly what we needed them to do.”
By the final horn, Minshew had thrown for 130 yards on 14-for-24 passing.
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