No Maxx Crosby. No Davante Adams. No problem – apparently.

The Las Vegas Raiders overcame the loss of their two best players and took care of business Sunday afternoon, holding off the Cleveland Browns’ late surge to a much-needed 20-16 win at Allegiant Stadium.

It was a contest where the Silver & Black’s game finally came to life and the defense played pretty stingy as Las Vegas overcame a 10-0 deficit to bounce back from a troubling home loss to the weak Carolina Panthers in Week 3 Victory list returned. A loss that, according to Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, led to “business decisions” and created the appearance of a team in dilemma just three games into the 2024 season.

“I knew what group I had. I don’t want to fall behind, but that wasn’t the team we’re used to and what we’ve shown in the last few games. It was a busy week to be honest, there was a lot of excitement, probably it started with me and my comments and I apologized to them for that,” Pierce said in the post-game press conference. “I don’t want to distract in this way, but at the end of the day we went to work every day. They came out all week and the guys never batted an eye or flinched.”

From the start, it looked like the Raiders (2-2 overall) would balk as the visiting Browns (1-3) rolled into visiting Las Vegas and mounted a methodical opening drive for a touchdown (15 plays and 70 yards) and a 56th point -yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. This start had the makings of another potential home game disaster for the Raiders.

However, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy seemed to realize that he had some quick feet at his disposal, and by using that speed on the final drives, Las Vegas got back on track and cut the deficit with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive of its own the deficit 10-7. It was a drive that featured tight end Brock Bowers and wide receivers Tyriek McAllister and Tre Tucker receiving yards carries – Tucker scored from three yards out. A Cleveland drive that resulted in a punt culminated in a Las Vegas series that culminated in a 52-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson, tying the game at 10 before halftime.

The Raiders’ determination did not waver in the second half as the team took the lead with a field goal to take a 13-10 lead. Then safety Tre’von Moehrig caught an interception as the ball bounced past former Raiders and current Browns receiver Amari Cooper. before Getsy chose another play to take advantage of the speed – this time wide receiver DJ Turner made smart moves at the end and plunged into the end zone from 18 yards out.

Even when the Raiders suffered a disheartening turnover that the Browns converted into six – a fumble by running back Zamir White that was returned home from 25 yards out – Las Vegas couldn’t get it done. Many Raiders teams from last year wouldn’t have made it. I folded in the same situation, but the Silver & Black without Crosby and Adams rose to the occasion when defensive end Charles Snowden stunted and sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on 4th-and-3 with Cleveland on landed on Las Vegas’ 9th-yard line to seal the deal.

“It didn’t work out at first, we didn’t put him on the 50-man roster, injuries happen and he gets pulled up and we asked him to do a lot, from special teams to playing linebacker to playing “D-End,” Pierce said of Snowden, “That height, that length, and more importantly, that effort, I thought that was a prime example of the last play being full-blown, we need the 4th-and-3 .game on the line.”,and he did what he could.”

Let’s tackle the quick slants as quickly as Snowden caught Watson for the winning goal:

—Some people will dismiss special teams in hindsight. But it plays a big role – especially if it’s a mistake. Take Dustin Hopkins, for example, who missed the extra point after Cleveland recovered White’s fumble for six. That single point made a big difference as the Browns could have scored a game-winning field goal instead of watching Watson get smothered by Snowden.

—Six different Raiders carried the ball for positive yards in the ground game managed 152 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries (a healthy average of 5.2 yards per carry). Alexander Mattison led the way with five carries for 60 yards, while White added 50 yards on 17 carries. All this performance with two rookies on offense in Jackson Powers-Johnson (left guard) and DJ Glaze (right tackle).

– Las Vegas’ defense held Cleveland to 241 total yards – 149 passing yards and 92 rushing yards – in the win. While the Browns went 3 for 3 converting third downs in the first, the Raiders shut down the visitors on every other attempt, while Cleveland finished 3 for 10 on third downs.

—Snowden had a pretty complete record in the win, making three total tackles (two solo) to follow his sack. He also intercepted a pass and had three quarterback hits in the fourth quarter, giving defensive tackle Christian Wilkins the team lead.

– Gardner Minshew finished 14 of 24 games for 130 yards with no touchdown passes or interceptions for the Raiders. The quarterback was sacked twice, but overall it was a poor performance.

Note quote:

“Sure, I think – I don’t know, I felt like the vibe wasn’t right last week. I feel like as long as we continue to encourage that, the celebrations in the end zone, the celebration of big plays in practice, as long as we keep smiles and have fun with what we do and the people that surround us I think we are a really good football team. Thank you all.” – Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew on how the team is keeping momentum going ahead of their Week 5 AFC West matchup Denver Broncos