Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Key matchups, numbers entering Week 4

LAS VEGAS — The road can be a lonely place. The Browns, though, have found the road to be a safe haven so far.

It's a very small sample size — one game — to go off of, but Cleveland can point to its only road game so far at the Jacksonville Jaguars as also its only win. Now, the Browns will try to make it two road wins, and two wins on the season, when they head to the desert to face the Las Vegas Raiders.

Both of these teams come in with 1-2 record and are coming off of losses to teams which hadn't won a game before facing them. The Browns lost at home to the New York Giants and the Raiders lost to the Carolina Panthers.

How much of a road environment the Browns actually face against the Raiders remains to be seen. Since moving to Las Vegas in 2020, the Raiders have routinely seen the visiting team's fans overrun their sparkling new stadium.

Since the NFL schedule came out, a large number of Browns fans have had the game circled as a potential road trip. Now, both the team and their fans will see if they can avoid the experience of that losing feeling which has accompanied so many other trips to Las Vegas.

Let's dive into the game preview now.

Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders offensive matchup of the game: RG Zak Zinter vs. DE Christian Wilkins

The rookie against one of the big free-agent signings of the offseason. Zak Zinter hasn't officially been announced as the replacement starter for the injured Wyatt Teller, but he stepped in for him against the Giants and faired well against their talented front. Now he's going from having to deal with Dexter Lawrence last week to likely having to occasionally face one of the better defensive ends in the game in Wilkins. Or, one of the best-paid defensive ends. Wilkins already owns four pressures on the season, including a sack. It was up the middle of the Browns' line where a lot of the New York pressure came from last week, so it stands to reason the Raiders will try that as well, especially against a rookie. Zinter's not winning all of his reps against Wilkins; he just can't get beat routinely in all of them.

Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders defensive matchup of the game: S Grant Delpit, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah vs. TE Brock Bowers

Raiders' star wide receiver Davante Adams popped up on Thursday's injury report with a hamstring issue. That became more than just something to monitor on Friday when Adams was ruled out for the game. Adams was target No. 1 for quarterback Gardner Minshew II, so someone's going to get those targets. The rookie Brock Bowers, though, was drafted to provide Las Vegas with their own poor-man's version of Travis Kelce or David Njoku, that matchup nightmare for safeties and linebackers. Bowers, the University of Georgia product, already has 18 catches on 20 targets for 197 yards in three games. The key will be for whomever has to deal with him, whether it's a safety like Grant Delpit, a linebacker like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah or even a slot cornerback like Greg Newsome II to be able to not let the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end become that safety valve for Minshew who keeps drives alive.

Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders numbers to watch

200 yards

Quarterback Deshaun Watson will be making his 16th start for the Browns since they acquired him in a 2022 trade with the Houston Texans. He's cleared the 200-yard passing mark six times in the first 15 starts, with the Browns going 3-3 in those games. However, the last three times he did it — Week 3 vs. Tennessee Titans, Week 9 vs. Arizona Cardinals and Week 10 at Baltimore Ravens last season — were all Browns wins. The closest Watson has come to that mark was last week's loss to the Giants, when he threw for 196 yards. If nothing else, getting over that mark would at least potentially give some sign of the passing offense getting some life.

305 yards

Minshew started 13 games a year ago for the Indianapolis Colts. One of those was a Week 7 home game against the Browns. He threw for 305 yards in that game and two touchdowns, with another 29 yards and two touchdowns on three rushing attempts. That game may be better known for all of the heroics by Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, including a strip sack of Minshew in the end zone which resulted in a Cleveland touchdown. That was one of four sacks by the Browns in that game. All of that together kind of sums up Minshew Mania. He is absolutely capable of burning a defense, especially one misaligned or not minding its rules. He's also able to self-destruct, especially if he's put under pressure by the defense.

77.1%

Dustin Hopkins left some Browns fans stunned last week when he missed his first field goal try from 50-plus yards since arriving in Cleveland prior to last season. Yet, even with his 10-of-11 from 50-plus yards as the Browns' kicker, his overall percentage from that range for his 11-year career is 61% (25-of-41). All of that is a long wind-up to get to the real long-distance kicking threat in this game, which is the Raiders' Daniel Carlson. Carlson's made 27-of-35 from 50-plus yards since arriving in the league originally with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018, a field goal percentage of 77.1%. That ranks fourth in the league in that span with a minimum of 30 attempts, behind Chase McLaughlin (83.9%), Chris Boswell (82.4%) and Graham Gano (79.4%).

The Cleveland Browns defeat the Las Vegas Raiders if …

• Watson gets much more decisive in his decision-making and doesn't hold onto the ball so long. Basically, a little better than what he did the last time he played on the road in Jacksonville.
• The patchwork offensive line doesn't let the Raiders suddenly become a team able to pressure the quarterback. Las Vegas' 27 pressures as a team, 11 of those by defensive end Maxx Crosby, ranks last in the league as a team.
• Don't have secondary busts which allow Minshew to find receivers streaking wide open, as he did last year with the Colts. Or, as the Browns did at times in both losses this season to the Cowboys and Giants.

The Las Vegas Raiders defeat the Cleveland Browns if …

• Minshew Mania takes over in the desert. The quarterback runs hot or cold. He was cold last week against the Panthers. But he heated up the previous week to beat the Baltimore Ravens, so it's certainly possible.
• The Raiders are able to heat up Watson in the pocket, with or without drawing up a bunch of blitzes. It's clear he can't handle the amount of pressure he's received in the two losses, which has resulted in 16 sacks by the Browns' opposition. Of course, those 16 sacks are just 11 less than the total number of pressures Las Vegas has had this season.
• Use special teams as a big weapon. Carlson's leg, as the Browns saw in 2021, is a weapon once they cross the 50. Former CVCA product Tre Tucker, meanwhile, is elite with his speed and capable of taking any punt to the house if he gets free. If Las Vegas dominates in the special teams, that's going to make a big difference.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Key matchups, numbers entering Week 4