Browns vs. Raiders: Baker Mayfield aims to make his mark

The Cleveland Browns will watch Baker Mayfield make his first career start as they go on the road to take on the winless Oakland Raiders.

It truly felt like a franchise-changing moment for the Cleveland Browns last Thursday as Baker Mayfield entered the fray. The rookie and No. 1 overall pick came in as relief for the injured Tyrod Taylor and looked the part of an instant star, mounting a comeback for Cleveland’s first win in 635 days. Now Mayfield looks for another in his first career start as he goes on the road to face the Oakland Raiders.

With Mayfield at the helm of the offense, it’s reasonable to believe that Cleveland’s fortunes are on the precipice of changing. The Browns defense has been formidable in every game this year, but the offense was seemingly holding them back. That turned when Mayfield got his shot as he moved the ball down the field with seeming poise and ease. They look for that to continue against a porous Oakland defense.

As for that Cleveland defense, the hope is that they are able to stifle the Raiders and Derek Carr. Despite Oakland’s woes through an 0-3 start under Jon Gruden, they have shown life on offense to this point. They aren’t the best unit that the Browns defense has faced, but they can cause problems. Perhaps the biggest key for Cleveland will be Myles Garrett generating pressure in a matchup against Kolton Miller.

If Miller is able to keep Carr clean (or clean enough), however, the Raiders have the weapons to make any team pay. We’re still waiting on Amari Cooper to become more consistent, but tight end Jared Cook has come on strong to start the year and weapons like Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant are in the fold as well.

The issues for Oakland lie in their defense. In the wake of the Khalil Mack trade, the pass rush has been virtually non-existent. When you combine that with extremely subpar play of the secondary, this unit has been breaking at all the wrong times through three games. If they’re to pick up their first win of 2018, they need that to change against the rookie quarterback.

TV and Live Stream Info

Date: Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018
Start Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: Oakland, CA
Stadium: Oakland Coliseum
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: FuboTV, NFL Sunday Ticket

Despite their winless record and the excitement coming from Mayfield starting, the Raiders are still favored at home in this matchup. However, the moneyline indicates (as does the line, to a degree) that the oddsmakers don’t truly see the Browns too far off from the level of the home team in this one.

Betting Odds (via Odds Shark)

Point Spread: Oakland -2.5
Moneyline: Oakland -130, Cleveland +120
Over/Under: 44

Prediction

Since the 2018 draft process started, I’ve not been shy in my belief in Mayfield and I’m not backing down from that. The Browns are the better team in this matchup on both sides of the ball in terms of talent. Subsequently, I don’t think the Raiders defense has an answer for the rookie and the offense can’t do enough consistently to match it, thus dropping Oakland to 0-4.

Final Score: Cleveland 27, Oakland 17