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

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

It was a game where the Silver & Black ground game finally came alive and the defense played stingy as Las Vegas overcame a 10-0 deficit and returned to the win column after an upsetting home loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers in Week 3. A rout that informed the “business decisions” of Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and gave the impression of a team in dilemma just three games into the 2024 season.

“I knew which group I had. I don’t want to back down, but that wasn’t the team we’re used to seeing that has shown up over the last few games. It was a difficult week, to be honest, a lot of hoopla, probably starting with me and my comments, and I apologized to them for that,” Pierce said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t want to be a distraction in that way, but we ended up going to work every day. They came out all week, and the boys never flinched or blinked.”

From the start, it seemed certain the Raiders (2-2 overall) would back down as the visiting Browns (1-3) rolled into Las Vegas and executed a methodical opening drive for a touchdown (15 plays and 70 yards) and a 56 – yard field goal to jump out to a 10-0 lead. That start created another potential disaster: a home stretch for the Raiders.

Still, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy seemingly discovered he has some fleet feet and by using that speed time and time again, Las Vegas got back on track with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive of its own to cut the deficit . 10-7. It was a drive where Brock Bowers and wide receivers Tyriek McAllister and Tre Tucker got a carry for yards – Tucker scored from three yards out. A Cleveland drive that resulted in a punt gave way to a Las Vegas series that culminated in a 52-yard Daniel Carlson field goal that tied the game at 10 going into halftime.

The Raiders’ determination didn’t waver in the second half as the team opened with a field goal to take a 13-10 lead, then safety Tre’von Moehrig avoided an interception when the ball passed from former Raiders and current Browns receiver Amari Cooper chimed. before Getsy set up another play to take advantage of the speed – this time wide receiver DJ Turner made nifty moves at the end and plunged into the end zone from 18 yards out.

Even when the Raiders suffered a disheartening turnover that turned the Browns into six — a fumble by running back Zamir White that was returned to the house from 25 yards out — Las Vegas didn’t pack it away. Many past Raiders teams would do that. I folded under the same circumstance, but the Crosby- and Adams-less Silver & Black took advantage of the opportunity when Charles Snowden sprinted into the defense during a stunt to sack Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on 4th-and-3 with Cleveland on ninth place in Las Vegas. yard line to seal the deal.

“It didn’t work out at first, we don’t put him on the 50-man roster, injuries happen and he gets picked up and we asked him to do a lot from special teams to playing linebacker to playing D-End,” said Pierce of Snowden, “That height, that length and more importantly that effort, I thought that was – a great example of that last play, utter, we’ve got to have 4th and 3rd, game on the line and he did everything he could.”

Let’s get to it as quickly as Snowden approached Watson for the game-ending sack:

—Some people will dismiss special teams as an afterthought. But it threatens to become big, especially if it is a miscue. Take, for example, Dustin Hopkins missing the extra point after Cleveland picked up White’s fumble for six. That one point made a big difference as the Browns could have gone for a draw instead of watching Watson get smothered by Snowden.

—Six different Raiders carried the ball for positive yards as a ground game produced 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 threw for 50 yards on 17 carries. All that production with two rookies on the offensive line in Jackson Powers-Johnson (left guard) and DJ Glaze (right tackle).

—Las Vegas’ defense held Cleveland to 241 yards – 149 passing yards and 92 rushing yards – in the win. While the Browns went 3-for-3 on third down conversions on the opening drive, the Raiders stymied the visitors on every other attempt as Cleveland finished 3-for-10 on third downs.

—Snowden had a pretty full stat sheet in the win as he had three total tackles (two solo) to go along with his pocket. He also deflected a pass in the fourth quarter and had three quarterback hits, tying defensive tackle Christian Wilkins for the team lead.

—Gardner Minshew finished 14 of 24 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 of note:

“Definitely, I think – I don’t know, I felt like the atmosphere was not right last week. I feel like as long as we continue to cherish that, the celebrations in the end zone, the celebration of big plays in practice, as long as we laugh and enjoy what we do and enjoy the people that we are around I think we are a very good football team. Thank you all.” —Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew on how the team maintains momentum during a Week 5 AFC West matchup with the Denver Broncos