The 2024 season went from bad to worse as the Cleveland Browns lost on the road to the Las Vegas Raiders 20-16. With the loss, Cleveland now has a terrible record of 1-3 to start the year.

Another loss, which Cleveland had plenty of chances to win, brings with it plenty of concerns. Amari Cooper’s hands are still in doubt after an easy catch turned into a costly interception. Why did Kevin Stefanski burn a timeout prior to the fourth down play? Even if you fail on that conversion, three timeouts mean the Raiders can’t just kneel three times.

Honestly, the list of issues could go on forever due to the missed PAT and the terrible holding call that took a green-lighted touchdown off the board.

Despite the disappointment of this result, a number of players still played a relatively good match. Here were the three stars.

Watson’s tenure with the Cleveland Browns is nothing short of a failed experiment. If the team continues to lose, it becomes increasingly likely that they land a top draft pick and a new quarterback.

However, Watson deserves some credit for his performance against the Raiders. The starting quarterback placed the football in spots where his receivers could make plays and haul in receptions. With numerous backups playing on the offensive line, Watson also used his feet to avoid pressure when necessary. He did a good job with his decision making in this match.

The sad part about this being probably one of Watson’s best performances for the Browns is that his stat line was just 24 of 32 for 176 yards and one touchdown. The interception was not Watson’s, but actually Cooper’s. The stats could have looked a lot better if the long touchdown pass hadn’t been called back to hold and the team probably would have won.

Watson doesn’t deserve much blame for this game, which hasn’t been said about most of the losses in recent times.

Whiteheart was a new addition to the active roster this week and immediately made a name for himself. The former Wake Forest tight end is in his second NFL season after being signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

In just his third appearance in an NFL game, Whiteheart scored the first touchdown of his professional career. Not only did he score a touchdown, but he also had three catches for 13 yards.

JOK was once again all over the field for the Browns defense. The linebacker led the way with nine total tackles (six solo) and one tackle for loss.

He still appears to be in Pro Bowl form after a strong season last year.