It just wouldn’t be a Browns game without a promising start, a dominating defensive performance, inopportune miscues, and Cleveland coming up short in the end. The Browns look to shrug off a tough loss to Baltimore by traveling to Sin City to take on the Las Vegas Raiders.
To put it simply, the Raiders’ offense is a mess. Even with the acquisition of former Boise State legend Ashton Jeanty in this year’s draft, Las Vegas averages the second-fewest yards per rush and third-fewest rushing yards per game in the league. While Jeanty himself hasn’t had a bad year (683 all-purpose yards, seven total touchdowns), there’s been no other rushing threat for Las Vegas. Raheem Mostert, Jeanty’s backup, has accounted for only 90 rushing yards on 19 attempts this season. If fellow rookies Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger can help contain Jeanty, it’ll severely hamper the Raiders’ offense.
After three years in Seattle, the Raiders signed Geno Smith to bring stability to the offense; unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. In 10 games, Smith has thrown more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (12). His tendency to turn the ball over could mean a big day for Denzel Ward and the rest of the Cleveland secondary. The Raiders have also struggled to keep their QB upright this season. So far, Geno Smith has been sacked 31 times this year, fourth-most in the league.
At first glance, the Raiders defense doesn’t seem like much, but they’re surprisingly strong against the run. Currently, teams are averaging only 3.8 yards per carry. A large part of that can be attributed to Maxx Crosby. Just as Cleveland does with Myles Garrett, the Raiders rely on Maxx Crosby for not only providing a pass rush but also defending the run. Crosby has the highest run stop win rates among edge rushers at 42%. With Crosby’s impact at the line of scrimmage and LB Jamal Addams patrolling the second line of the defense, there may be tough sledding ahead for Browns RB Quinshon Judkins.
Las Vegas probably has the most middle-of-the-road secondary in the entire NFL. They rank towards the middle of the league in yards per pass (7.0, 15th in the league) and passing yards per game (219.5, 19th in the league). A key factor holding back this secondary is the play of FS Isaiah Pola-Mao. When targeted, Pola-Mao allows a passer rating of 126.3, a 68.2 completion percentage, and the second-most touchdowns in the league (6). Pola-Mao currently has a PFF grade of 33.3, the worst among all safeties. To exploit this possible mismatch, expect Cleveland to lean more on the deep pass than they have this season.
Strengths:
- Strong Run Defense
- Matchup Nightmare In Brock Bowers
Weaknesses:
- Extremely Turnover Prone QB
- Run Game Has Been Ineffective So Far
- O-Line Gives Up Sacks At High Rate
Key Matchup:
- Cleveland Pass Game Vs Las Vegas Secondary
It’s been very well documented that after a head injury to the starting QB, Dillon Gabriel, the Browns will be starting Shedeur Sanders under center. In his NFL debut, we’ve seen flashes of potential, but also areas of immediate improvement. I believe that with him as the signal caller, it adds more dimensions to a struggling offense as opposed to Gabriel. His performance on Sunday will go a long way in seeing if Sanders can be the franchise quarterback Cleveland has been waiting for. Cleveland doesn’t need Sanders to be perfect, but if he can move the ball downfield and limit turnovers, they have a chance to leave Sin City with a win.
Score Prediction:
- CLE-24
- LV-20
The post Week 12 Opponent Scouting Report: Las Vegas Raiders appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .