3 Takeaways from Raiders' Week 8 Win
The Las Vegas Raiders earned a bounce-back win on the road on Sunday to move over .500 for the fourth time this season.
Jon Gruden's team survived the elements at FirstEnergy Stadium to defeat the Cleveland Browns 16-6 one week after it lost by 25 points at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The combination of a solid rushing attack and a resilient defense allowed the Raiders to keep the AFC clash a low-scoring affair.
Hunter Renfrow's touchdown catch and Daniel Carlson's third field goal created enough scoreboard separation to earn what could be a vital win in the AFC wild-card hunt if the two teams finish with the same record.
Josh Jacobs' High Workload Was Vital for a Victory
It helps the Raiders that they have one of the NFL's best running backs, especially in a game affected by blustery conditions.
Las Vegas turned to Josh Jacobs to carry the offensive workload, and he responded with 128 rushing yards on 31 carries.
Although he did not find the end zone, Jacobs was a key part of a few scoring drives, starting with the eight-minute series in the second quarter that led to Carlson's first field-goal make.
Jacobs carried the ball on five occasions during the first scoring drive, and Devontae Booker received a few carries as well. That set the tone for the other series that produced points. Jacobs gained 15 yards on the first four plays of the second field-goal drive, recorded 22 yards on the series that led to Renfrow's score and had 30 rushing yards to set up Carlson's final made kick.
The second-year running back likely won't carry the ball that often moving forward since the conditions should not be as extreme as they were Sunday, but Jacobs deserves credit for answering the call and putting the Raiders in positions to score.
Defense Limited Cleveland's Playmakers
Baker Mayfield could have followed the recent trend against the Raiders of quarterbacks who led their teams to high-scoring performances.
Even with the wind gusting, Mayfield could have made short passes to Harrison Bryant and David Njoku and found a way to get Jarvis Landry involved. Instead, the Browns quarterback was held to 12-of-25 with 122 passing yards, which was the lowest total for an opposing signal-caller against the Raiders.
Las Vegas did allow 101 yards on the ground, but it held Kareem Hunt to 66 yards, which is a solid total in a game that could have been dominated by both rushing attacks.
The Raiders defense played sound football Sunday since it made a single quarterback hit on Mayfield and did not record a sack. The only turnover of the game was a Bryant fumble that was recovered by Nicholas Morrow, but that did not produce any points.
Las Vegas will face tougher offensive challenges in normal conditions in most of its remaining matchups, but it could use Sunday's performance as a confidence-builder going into a three-game AFC West stretch.
Daniel Carlson Recovered Well from Early Miss
Carlson appeared to be in for a brutal Sunday after his first field-goal attempt got caught in the wind and hit the left upright.
To his credit, the Raiders kicker made the proper adjustments and knocked in three field goals following the miss.
Gruden was especially proud of Carlson's efforts and the response of his team in cold weather after struggling in it last season, per Raiders.com's Kyle Martin:
"We talked and made a big deal about the weather. We knew the weather was going to be really harsh today and we kept talking about how we struggled to play on the road in bad weather last year against the Jets and the Chiefs. We really made a big deal out of it and we kind of enjoyed it I think. Our guys looked forward to the challenge of the weather more than anything."
A year ago, Carlson went 2-of-4 on field goals and missed an extra point in the poor-weather games against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
Although the first one did not go in Sunday, Carlson made the right alterations and finished off the drives powered by Jacobs with points to move to 16-of-18 on field goals and 19-of-20 on extra points in the 2020 season. Sunday's three field goals pushed him into the top six in the NFL in three-point kicks made.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.