Winners and losers from the Browns’ 20-16 loss to the Raiders

Loser: Deshaun Watson’s peace of mind

Things are bad on the offensive line, and there’s no guarantee they’ll get better.

Once center Ethan Pocic went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, that made Joel Bitonio, who had to play left guard for some of Week 3, the last healthy starting lineman standing.

The Raiders’ pressure took full advantage of the backups, with three sacks and 11 quarterback hits on Deshaun Watson.

It’d even result in a moment of emotions from Watson toward Dawand Jones after he allowed Las Vegas’ Tyree Wilson to invade the pocket. Watson saw Amari Cooper open deep, but he had to throw it early because of the pressure and it veered far from where Cooper was.

It’s popular to point the blame at Watson for a multitude of reasons, including holding on to the ball. But the fact is he’s taken 16 sacks and 53 quarterback hits through four games and counting, and giving him a clean pocket starts up front.

Winner: The jet sweep

This play has not been kind to the Browns defense so far this season.

Dallas used the jet sweep with CeeDee Lamb three times in Week 1 and he gained 25 yards, including a 12-yarder. Cleveland cut down on it in Week 3 when the Giants tried it twice with Malik Nabers, keeping him to 4 yards.

But it’d strike back harder come Week 4 in Sin City.

Both touchdowns accounted for by the Raiders offense on Sunday came off the jet sweep.

The first was reverse jet sweep from quarterback Gardner Minshew, to Zamir White, then to Tre Tucker running around left end for the 3-yard score.

The second touchdown came toward the latter part of the third quarter, where Las Vegas set up in what looked to be another run for Alexander Mattison, who had run for 16 yards on the previous play. Instead, it was a jet handoff for DJ Turner off presnap motion, run so sharply that it even caught Myles Garrett off guard.

Turner ran around left end and broke multiple tackles, including an attempt from Cameron Mitchell at the goal line, for the 18-yard score.

The Raiders did rank 14th last season in presnap motion percentage (20.2%). So if anything, it was a lesson for Cleveland, which likes the jet sweep, on how to properly use it.

Loser: Watson’s chemistry with his receivers

Through four weeks, the only receiver Watson has some cohesion with is newcomer Jerry Jeudy.

As for the returners in Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore, things are… interesting.

Cooper dropped four passes through Weeks 1 and 2; bounced back big for 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Week 3; then regressed in Week 4.

He caught four of his eight targets for 35 yards, with a third-quarter lowlight in which Watson’s dart bounced off his chest and into the hands of Las Vegas’ Tre’von Moehrig.

Had a later 82-yard Cooper touchdown catch not been nullified by a holding penalty, that would’ve been his saving grace.

Then there’s Moore, who caught six of his eight targets for 44 yards in Week 2, but has been targeted a combined four times between Weeks 3 and 4; he was targeted once Sunday.

What’s interesting is Moore is creating more separation than Jeudy and Cooper: He entered Week 4 with an average separation from a defender of 3.8 yards.

Even going back to Week 3, I counted Moore being used in presnap motion five times, which was more than his targets (three).

Loser: The Browns’ run defense

Going into Week 3, the Raiders had the worst rushing attack in the NFL (51.0 yards per game), and their longest run of the season was a 12-yard run by Zamir White in Week 1.

By the time Alexander Mattison capped off a 24-yard run with a little over five minutes left in the first half, he and White had nearly combined for that same total (50).

Mattison and White ended the game with 110 combined rushing yards, and you add in the jet sweeps (as mentioned earlier in this post), the Raiders’ run game had more yards (152) than Gardner Minshew did in the passing game (130).

But it was more than the tricks and sweeps. Those backs earned their yards, helped by some passive and sloppy Browns tackling.

Winner: Isaiah McGuire

The 2023 fourth-round draftee has been trying to create elbow room in a crowded D-line room.

McGuire appeared in 94 defensive snaps through four games last season, though 50 of those came in the season finale, where Cleveland’s starters sat out since a playoff berth was clinched.

He had yet to really make his mark, but when Jim Schwartz calls your number, you take advantage and look to make something happen.

McGuire would do just that on the first play of the fourth quarter.

On an outside right handoff for Zamir White, McGuire made the read. He found an opening past tackle DJ Glaze and stopped White in his tracks.

White was still fighting to move forward, giving Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah a chance to come in and tackle him, resulting in a fumble. A couple of rolls later it was picked up by Rodney McLeod, who took it back the other way for a touchdown, his career third score off a fumble return.

Loser: Nick Harris’ timing

Had the center’s two most notable moments not happened at pivotal times of the game, we might not be talking about them today.

The center’s most well-known moment was his debatable holding penalty on Christian Wilkins that nullified a huge play, Amari Cooper’s 82-yard touchdown catch that would’ve given the Browns the lead.

The call received mixed reviews, including from the CBS broadcasting team. And Harris said he didn’t know the penalty was on him until after the game.

But that wasn’t the only moment Harris was in the spotlight after he took over when Ethan Pocic’s ankle injury kept him from continuing the game.

On the Browns’ crucial fourth-quarter play after the two-minute warning, Harris snapped the ball early, surprising Watson on a first and 10 from the Raiders 16 and hitting him in the chest with the football. Watson had to fall on the ball and take a 6-yard loss.

Three plays later, Cleveland turned the ball, and the game, over on downs.