Down 18 to COVID-19, Browns Make Valiant Effort, Fall a Play Short Against Raiders

The Cleveland Browns had every excuse to lose, but they gave everything they had, for themselves, their teammates and a head coach who was unavailable for the game. It simply wasn't enough against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Down 14-13 with 29 seconds left to go in the game without any timeouts, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed what might've been a harmless pass to tight end Foster Moreau short to the right. Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and corner Denzel Ward were in position to tackle him in bounds around the 50-yard line, leaving the Raiders without a way to stop the clock.

An open field tackle, the play Ward made to secure the win the previous week over Baltimore Ravens, the game was in the hands of one of the best players on the team. Neither Ward nor JOK made the tackle, allowing an unimpeded Moreau to gain another five yards before going out of bounds, stopping the clock at 22 seconds. 

This shouldn’t go overlooked :28 seconds left. Horrible effort by 3 Browns, no effort actually, to get Raider ball carrier down, in bounds. Brutal. @cleveland19news pic.twitter.com/6HLN4r2D2c

— Brian Duffy (@brianduffy19) December 21, 2021

Rather than scrambling to spike the ball and potentially settling for a Hail Mary attempt, the Raiders were able to continue at their leisure, setting up Daniel Carlson for the 48-yard game winning field goal.

The Browns entered Monday's game with around half their roster but everything to play for as a win would've put them in first place in the AFC North.

18 players in all were unavailable due to an outbreak of COVID-19 even after moving the game to Monday, leaving the Browns with a practice squad quarterback, determination and little else. Despite every excuse to lose this game, the Browns came in believing they could win and were able to convert even the most ardent skeptic by the end of the game.

It wasn't pretty. The offense the Browns generated often felt as if they were succeeding against insurmountable odds. Their defense was once again called upon to keep the game within reach as both the offense and special teams struggled throughout the game.

A missed 47-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin before the half. A shanked punt by Dustin Colquitt in the waning moments of the game. The offense needed the entire first half to make up for the lack of practice reps for third string quarterback Nick Mullens, enabling him to find his sea legs.

In the second half, the defense once again proved to be the spark as a sack between JOK and Sheldon Day on Derek Carr resulted in a fumble, giving the ball to the Browns on the Raiders 47-yard line.

Starting with a pass to David Njoku for 13 yards followed by Nick Chubb finding a crease for 24, the Browns needed six plays to get in the endzone, making the game 10-7. Pressure immediately started building on the Raiders.

They would respond with a field goal of their own and the teams would swap punts before the Browns made what they hoped would be the game-winning drive. 

An arduous journey that took up 8:22 of the fourth quarter, the Browns needed to convert three third downs before the Raiders finally stopped them at their own six. Facing 4th-and-5, Mullens held onto the ball as he worked to his left. As he felt the clock in his head getting close to zero, Mullens went forward towards the line of scrimmage, forcing the linebacker to take him. It enabled him to find tight end Harrison Brynat alone in the end zone who caught and then clutched the ball as if his life depended on it.

In his postgame comments, Mullens said, "I really believed in the fourth quarter that this night was destined for Cleveland." In that moment, everyone did. A testament to the 'next man up' mantra instilled by head coach Kevin Stefanski, who himself was out with COVID-19, the Browns were close to scratching and clawing their way to win.

Unfortunately, missed opportunities in each phase of the game, including one for all three in the final two minutes enabled the Raiders to come back and outlast the Browns, stealing their storybook ending, replacing their dreams of first place in the AFC North with nightmares of perhaps the end of their season.

A valiant effort and something this team can build on for the future, it won't make the taste of this defeat any less bitter.

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