The Sports Xchange

BAREA, Ohio – The offensive line and secondary, the two units that are supposed to be the foundation of any success the Browns have this season, are struggling to meet expectations.

Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns on his way to a 115.9 passer rating Sunday to lead the Oakland Raiders past the Browns, 27-20.

The Browns (1-2) have given up six touchdowns through the air in three games. Opposing quarterbacks have a 102.9 passer rating.

Throughout preseason the starting defensive backs boasted the Browns are among the best secondaries in the league, but three games into the season they are not playing like it.

“We have to play better on all phases,” Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine said. “That is clear. I’m not saying anything different that I said to the team. Our theme for the year is words into action. We need to play better before we talk about potentially how good we can be.”

Cornerback Joe Haden was matched against Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper most of the day. Cooper did not have his success against Haden exclusively, but the rookie caught eight passes for 134 yards.

Next up for the Browns is Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in San Diego followed by a road game in Baltimore against Joe Flacco and then back home to face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on Oct. 18.

“I have to play better,” Haden said. “Everybody on our D – we just have to put together four quarters. We have to tackle better. We have to get off the field on third down. We can’t talk about having the best secondary and having the best offensive line and when it’s time to prove it on Sunday it’s not happening.”

The Browns rushed just 14 times against the Raiders for 39 yards. The run offense was supposed to be a strength, yet the Browns are averaging just 3.6 yards a carry. The Browns have given up 10 sacks. That projects to 53 sacks on the season.

–Wide receiver Travis Benjamin caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season on Sunday. That already is a career high with 13 games to play, but he was hard on himself for muffing a punt late in the game with the Browns trailing, 27-20. The Raiders recovered at the Browns’ 43 with 4:01 to play.

“I feel like I let my team down, and that is one thing I don’t want to do,” Benjamin said. “We have to take advantage of every opportunity. Every time we get the ball, we have to punch it in.”

REPORT CARD VS. RAIDERS

Passing offense: C-plus. It took almost a half for him to shake the rust off, but Josh McCown in his first game back after missing last week with a concussion and he passed for 341 yards. He distributed the ball to eight players and threw two touchdown passes. His intercepted pass with 38 seconds left ended any chance the Browns had of tying the game 27-27.

Running defense: D. The Browns gave up on the run too quickly. Isaiah Crowell ran 10 times for 36 yards with a long run of 17 yards. Exclusive of that the Browns rushed for 22 yards on 13 carries. The holes the offensive line is supposed to create haven’t been there for much of the season.

Pass defense: D. The Browns gave up 314 passing yards and had no answer for rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper, who had 134 yards receiving on eight catches. The Raiders averaged 15.7 yards a reception. The Browns were without nickel back K’Waun Williams and for part of the third quarter were without starting left cornerback Joe Haden. The Browns tackled poorly.

Run defense: D-minus. The Raiders gashed the Browns for 155 yards on the ground. This was supposed to be the most improved part of the Browns on both sides of the ball. Instead, opponents are averaging nearly five yards a carry – 4.9 – after giving up 4.3 yards a carry last year when they were last in the league. The Browns are healthy in the front seven this year. Last year they had the excuse of injuries on the defensive line.

Special teams: C-minus. A turning point in the game occurred when a blocked punt attempt turned into a roughing the kicker penalty. The Raiders turned the second chance into their first touchdown. Travis Benjamin was held to nine yards on three returns. The Raiders returned two kicks for 60 yards. Punter Andy Lee was stellar as usual by posting a net average of 51.3 yards on four punts. A muffed punt by Benjamin with 4:01 left was costly.

Coaching: C. The decision to start Josh McCown at quarterback will be second guessed, but that isn’t why the Browns lost the game. The defensive coaches have to get their players to tackle better. If they don’t, it is going to be a very long season. Likewise offensive coordinator John DeFilippo has to weed out running plays that do not work and get the ground game going.