BEREA, Ohio — Just as the Cleveland Browns’ offense seems to hit a wall, the defense appears to become one. A wall, that is.

The Browns created three takeaways in their 23-13 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday and, despite rushing for a meager 39 yards on 25 carries, they were able to convert three steals — two fumble recoveries and an interception — into 17 points.

At the heart of the takeaway success is free safety Tashaun Gipson, who intercepted a pass by Raiders backup quarterback/holder Matt Schaub off a fake field goal and returned it 35 yards to the Oakland 48 to set up the Browns’ first of three field goals.

Gipson intercepted two passes on Oct. 19 in Jacksonville and has an NFL-best five picks this season. He swiped five last year and will be on the lookout for more next Sunday when the Browns (4-3) host Tampa Bay (1-6).

“He grades out high every week,” coach Mike Pettine said. “He and Whit (strong safety Donte Whitner) are very complementary to each other and do a good job communicating and making sure the corners and the structure in front of them is right. There have not been a lot of mental mistakes by that duo, and that’s hard sometimes to handle, schematically.

“It’s clear that he has that center fielder-type ability. He’s got tremendous ball skills. He’s a guy that we’ve obviously been very pleased with.”

The Browns yielded 386 yards to the Raiders, but they kept them out of the end zone until the final seven seconds.

The Browns were beaten 24-6 in Jacksonville on Oct. 19. The score was 10-6 with six minutes to play, but the Browns turned the ball over twice inside the Cleveland 10 and the Jaguars scored touchdowns both times to make the final score more lopsided than the game actually was.

NOTES: Defensive tackle John Hughes was put on injured reserve/designated to return with a knee injury. … Tight end Jordan Cameron is in the NFL’s concussion protocol program after being injured against the Raiders. … Defensive back K’Waun Williams has a neck stinger. … Tight end Ryan Taylor was claimed on waivers from the Ravens.

REPORT CARD VS. RAIDERS

–PASSING OFFENSE: B — Brian Hoyer was more productive than he appeared as the game unfolded. He completed 19 of 28 passes for 275 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He got lucky a couple passes were not picked off, but he hit Andrew Hawkins for a 32-yard gain after an Oakland turnover and followed that with a 16-yard completion to tight end Jim Dray to the Raiders’ 5 to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hawkins.

–RUNNING OFFENSE: D — The Browns were stymied in their running game for the second straight week. They gained just 39 yards on 25 carries. The longest run all day was a 7-yard pickup by rookie Terrance West. The Browns clearly miss Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, who is out for the year after surgery to repair a broken left fibula. Tim McDonald started at center against the Raiders. It might be too simple to blame the running woes on one lineup change, but in the two games without Mack the Browns have rushed 55 times for 108 yards.

–PASSING DEFENSE: B-minus — Derek Carr passed for 328 yards, but he threw the ball 54 times and the only time he threw a touchdown pass was in the final seven seconds. The Browns broke up nine passes. Cornerbacks Joe Haden and Justin Gilbert had two breakups apiece. Safety Tashaun Gipson’s fifth interception of the season led to the Browns’ first field goal.

–RUNNING DEFENSE: B — The Browns had their best game of the season in run defense. They held the Raiders to 71 yards and just three rushing first downs. Missed tackles and improper alignment were a problem in the first six games, but those were not issues on Sunday. It helped that nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin returned to action after missing two games with an ankle injury.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-plus — This grade would be higher, but Travis Benjamin lost three yards on a punt return and fumbled in the process in the third quarter. Fortunately for him and the Browns, teammate Eric Martin recovered at the Browns’ 30. Billy Cundiff earned his paycheck by going 3-for-3 on field goal tries and recording five more touchbacks on kickoffs. TJ Carrie tried to run one out from seven yards deep and was nailed at the Oakland 15.

–COACHING: B — The Browns did not run the ball well, but offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan stuck with play-action and that opened up deep passes for Brian Hoyer. Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil emphasized run defense in practice last week and it paid off. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor gave Benjamin another chance to return punts after he muffed one in Tennessee on Oct. 5. Benjamin rewarded that faith with a 13-yard return in the first half but then showed why he was benched with the fumbled punt in the third quarter.