The Sports Xchange

CLEVELAND — Oakland Raiders teams of the past might have wilted under pressure, but the one that held on to beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday refused to repeat history.

The Raiders (2-1) snapped an 11-game road losing streak dating to 2013 behind two touchdown passes by quarterback Derek Carr to beat the Browns, 27-20.

“We don’t care about anything in the past,” said Raiders linebacker Curtis Lofton after making seven tackles. “We’re going in the right direction and we have new players. Credit goes to our coaches. They did a great job getting us in a scheme that set us up to make a lot of plays.”

The Browns, down 27-10 in the fourth quarter, rallied to cut the Raiders’ lead to a touchdown with 6:26 left and forced the Raiders to punt. But Travis Benjamin mishandled the punt with 4:01 left and the Raiders recovered.

A final Cleveland drive starting at the Browns’ 2 ended with quarterback Josh McCown being intercepted by Raiders safety Charles Woodson deep in Oakland territory.

Carr completed 20 of 32 passes for 314 yards. He did not throw an interception nor was he sacked. Cooper led the Raiders with eight catches for 134 yards.

McCown got into a rhythm in the third quarter and completed a key fourth-down pass to tight end Gary Barnidge. He finished the drive by rolling right and completing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Barnidge with 3:32 left in the period to cut Oakland’s advantage to 20-10.

The Raiders responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive ending running back Latavius Murray’s 6-yard romp with 14:30 to play to kick Oakland’s lead back to 17 points.

A 41-yard field goal by Coons and a 4-yard touchdown pass from McCown to Benjamin, his fourth this season, finished the scoring for the Browns.

What we learned about the Browns:

1. The Browns lost, but going back to Josh McCown as the starting quarterback apparently was the right decision by head coach Mike Pettine. McCown got the Browns back in the game after a shaky start and ended up with 341 passing yards and two touchdown passes. It would be a surprise if he doesn’t start against the Chargers next week.

2. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe’s days with the Browns might be numbered. The nine-year veteran was a healthy scratch for the game with the Raiders. He missed the opener with a hamstring injury and did not catch the only pass thrown in his direction last week. The problem is the Browns owe him $9 million guaranteed.

3. The run was supposed to be the foundation of the offense, but so far it has been a huge disappointment. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson accounted for all the running plays Sunday — 14 of them for 39 yards. The score was 27-10 30 seconds into the fourth quarter so at that point they had to pass, but even before then the run was not working.

Etc.:

–TE Gary Barnidge set career highs on Sunday with six catches for 105 yards. His previous bests were four catches vs. New Orleans last season and 77 yards vs. Buffalo in 2009 when Barnidge played for Carolina.

–QB Josh McCown started for the Browns after missing the game last week with a concussion. He passed for 341 yards with two touchdowns. It was the 10th time in his career he passed for 300 yards and the 19th times he passed for multiple touchdowns.

–WR Travis Benjamin caught a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:26 left to give him four scoring receptions on the season, but he also muffed a punt with 4:01 left and the Browns down 27-20. Oakland recovered. “I feel like I let my team down,” Benjamin said.