Las Vegas Raiders: Toughest stretch of 2021 schedule
Las Vegas Raiders: Toughest stretch of 2021 schedule
Week 15 @ Cleveland Browns – Sunday, December 19
Speaking of places with awful weather, the Las Vegas Raiders are heading to Cleveland to face the Browns in mid-December. Last season’s game was on November 1st and it still featured some absurd weather including hurricane-speed winds, pouring rain, and some hail and snow mixed in for good measure.
The wind was the biggest factor in the game as neither team could muster much of a passing attack and both kickers were unable to make a field goal when it was really swirling. It could be argued that if the refs made the right call on a Henry Ruggs toe-tap touchdown that was ruled incomplete it may not have been as close as a game, but in the end, the Raiders held on to win 16-6 thanks to the ground game.
Josh Jacobs was the star of the game as he rushed 129 yards on 31 carries but couldn’t close out the game for good in a goal-line situation late in the fourth quarter. Even Derek Carr got in the ground game fun as he rushed for 41 yards on six carries to keep drives alive for the Raiders.
Weather will likely be a big factor once again but the opposing team is what makes this matchup even tougher. The Browns came up just short of a trip to the AFC Championship Game and they spent this offseason reloading on defense to shore up their title credentials. They still have a fearsome ground game and their offense should be even better if star receiver Odell Beckham Jr is healthy.
On defense, they added a slew of playmakers including John Johnson, Troy Hill, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Jadeveon Clowney. The defense was their primary issue as the unit was 21st in points allowed and 22nd in passing yards allowed so these moves should have a huge impact on both categories.
Las Vegas Raiders: Top-5 2021 offseason additions. dark. Next
The Browns will be looking to build on their success in 2020 and a matchup that could determine the AFC Wild Card could be a juicy one and could be flexed into a primetime game per the schedule. Regardless of kickoff time or whether this will be a tough test for the Raiders and comes just a week after a likely difficult game against KC.