Post by TheShadow on Dec 2, 2012 20:33:21 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
By Jerry McDonald
OAKLAND -- The Raiders' problems have more to do with their play than the calendar.
After a winless November, the Raiders fell 20-17 Sunday to the Cleveland Browns at O.co Coliseum in a battle between teams desperate for a win.
The Raiders (3-9) looked to be putting themselves in position for a chance to steal the game in the fourth quarter until Carson Palmer threw a deep sideline pass to Juron Criner that was intercepted by Sheldon Brown at the 6-yard line.
Oakland trailed 13-10 at the time and was coming off its best offensive and defensive sequence of the game, scoring on a 64-yard lightning bolt from Palmer to Rod Streater and then forcing a Browns punt at the 45-yard line.
The Raiders maneuvered to the Cleveland 33-yard line and had a first-and-10 when Palmer took a shot at Criner.
But instead of putting the ball high and toward the outside where only Criner could get it, Palmer's pass was underthrown and to the inside, making it an easy interception for Brown with 9:31 remaining.
The Browns (4-8) then took the ball at their own 6, got out of trouble with a third-and-3 pass from Brandon Weeden to Josh Gordon for 11 yards to the 24, and later had a 22-yard hookup from Weeden to tight end Benjamin Watson to the 46-yard line to kill precious time off the clock.
The Browns eventually finished off a 94-yard, 14-play drive with a 3-yard run by Trent Richardson with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter and consumed 6:04 in elapsed time.
The Raiders scored on a 17-yard pass from Palmer to tight end Brandon Myers with one second remaining. It was Myers' 14th reception, tying Tim Brown for the franchise record for catches in a game.
For the Browns, it snapped a 12-game road losing streak that began last Oct. 16 wit a 24-17 loss to the Raiders at the Coliseum.
The 64-yard touchdown pass to Streater came after defensive tackle Desmond Bryant got his hand on a 28-yard Phil Dawson field goal attempt, redirecting it to miss to the left.
Dawson had field goals of 41 and 35 yards. Oakland only score other than the Streater touchdown was a 51-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski in the second quarter.
The Raiders' problems giving up big plays on defense continued unabated, as Weeden completed 25 of 36 passes for 364 yards and a 44-yard touchdown to Josh Gordon. He had two interceptions, one by Matt Giordano and the other by Phillip Adams.
Running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson each missed their fourth consecutive game after being declared inactive.
With a short week coming up and a Thursday night game at home against division-lading Denver, there is no guarantee they'll be ready to play in the next game.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was active for the first time this season, did not get in the game for any specialty plays or packages.
By Jerry McDonald
OAKLAND -- The Raiders' problems have more to do with their play than the calendar.
After a winless November, the Raiders fell 20-17 Sunday to the Cleveland Browns at O.co Coliseum in a battle between teams desperate for a win.
The Raiders (3-9) looked to be putting themselves in position for a chance to steal the game in the fourth quarter until Carson Palmer threw a deep sideline pass to Juron Criner that was intercepted by Sheldon Brown at the 6-yard line.
Oakland trailed 13-10 at the time and was coming off its best offensive and defensive sequence of the game, scoring on a 64-yard lightning bolt from Palmer to Rod Streater and then forcing a Browns punt at the 45-yard line.
The Raiders maneuvered to the Cleveland 33-yard line and had a first-and-10 when Palmer took a shot at Criner.
But instead of putting the ball high and toward the outside where only Criner could get it, Palmer's pass was underthrown and to the inside, making it an easy interception for Brown with 9:31 remaining.
The Browns (4-8) then took the ball at their own 6, got out of trouble with a third-and-3 pass from Brandon Weeden to Josh Gordon for 11 yards to the 24, and later had a 22-yard hookup from Weeden to tight end Benjamin Watson to the 46-yard line to kill precious time off the clock.
The Browns eventually finished off a 94-yard, 14-play drive with a 3-yard run by Trent Richardson with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter and consumed 6:04 in elapsed time.
The Raiders scored on a 17-yard pass from Palmer to tight end Brandon Myers with one second remaining. It was Myers' 14th reception, tying Tim Brown for the franchise record for catches in a game.
For the Browns, it snapped a 12-game road losing streak that began last Oct. 16 wit a 24-17 loss to the Raiders at the Coliseum.
The 64-yard touchdown pass to Streater came after defensive tackle Desmond Bryant got his hand on a 28-yard Phil Dawson field goal attempt, redirecting it to miss to the left.
Dawson had field goals of 41 and 35 yards. Oakland only score other than the Streater touchdown was a 51-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski in the second quarter.
The Raiders' problems giving up big plays on defense continued unabated, as Weeden completed 25 of 36 passes for 364 yards and a 44-yard touchdown to Josh Gordon. He had two interceptions, one by Matt Giordano and the other by Phillip Adams.
Running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson each missed their fourth consecutive game after being declared inactive.
With a short week coming up and a Thursday night game at home against division-lading Denver, there is no guarantee they'll be ready to play in the next game.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was active for the first time this season, did not get in the game for any specialty plays or packages.