Browns vs. Raiders: Scouting the Las Vegas Raiders with our Q&A with Silver and Black Pride

We ask about Raiders QB Gardner Minshew, the struggles of their defense, and more.

This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns are back on the road as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders. To help preview a few topics from the Raiders’ perspective, we reached out to Matt Holder from Silver and Black Pride and exchanged five questions with him.

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Chris: “How has Gardner Minshew been for the Raiders’ offense through 3 games? Should they stick with him?”

Matt: “Minshew has had about two quarters of impressive play, Week 2 against the Ravens when the offense scored 20 points in the second half to come back and pull off the upset. Outside of that, he’s been the below-average starting quarterback everyone thought he’d be heading into the season.

During the preseason, Minshew was playing like he had nothing to lose and pushing the ball down the field. That was part of the reason why he won the job over Aidan O’Connell as O’Connell was very conservative. However, that has changed during the regular season where Minshew has turned down opportunities to throw deep when guys are open and often bails out of clean pockets, leading to sacks or scrambles that don’t pick up third-down conversions.

Granted, it was garbage time but O’Connell got some PT last week since Minshew was playing poorly again, so a quarterback change could be coming soon. Minshew is still the starter for now but he’s on a short leash and it wouldn’t surprise me if O’Connell gets some action this Sunday.”

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Chris: “The Raiders defense has really struggled statistically so far. What is their biggest weakness?”

Matt: “Last week was bad as the unit’s collective effort level dropped against the Panthers, but the defense hasn’t been the Raiders’ problem. The offense can’t sustain drives and build momentum which leads to the defense getting worn down and feeling deflated because the other side of the ball isn’t holding up its end of the bargain. The season opener against the Chargers is a good example.

If you look at the stat sheet, it seems like J.K. Dobbins ran all over Las Vegas’ defense. However, the majority of Dobbins’ production came on two long runs where the defense was worn down and defenders got burned by trying to make a big play and leaving their assignment. To me, that was the result of guys getting frustrated and trying too hard to make a momentum-changing play because the offense couldn’t get anything going. Also, the Chargers had two possessions where they went three-and-out and still managed to score points with field goals after the offense turned the ball over on downs in Los Angeles’ territory and Minshew had a ball slip out of his hand on a backward pass that gave the Chargers the ball the 12-yard line.

That being said, the Raiders do have a tackling problem. Pro Football Focus has credited them with 37 missed tackles in three games and that’s a big part of the issue with the big plays mentioned above.”

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Chris: “Las Vegas selected TE Brock Bowers early in this year’s draft. Tell us how the rookie has looked.”

Matt: “Behind Davante Adams, Bowers has been the offense’s second-best player. He’s tied with Adams for the most catches on the team (18) and is second in yards (197) as we’ve seen some of his YAC skills in the early stages of the season. So he’s been as advertised this far.

Bowers still has some work to do as a run-blocker, but he’s been a dynamic receiver who can create mismatches in the slot with his combination of size and athleticism.

The Raiders have been burnt by several poor first-round picks for the better part of the last 20-plus years, but it looks like they’ve hit on the Georgia product based on the first three games of the year.”

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Chris: “Tell us about one player who Browns fans may not have heard of, but who could have an impact on this Sunday’s game.”

Matt: “Defensive tackle Adam Butler.

I know the Browns’ offensive line is pretty beat up, especially with Wyatt Teller going on injured reserve this week. That should help guys who everyone knows about like Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins, but don’t sleep on Butler.

Last season, Butler was a good interior pass rusher who would come in on third downs and create havoc on line games, either creating opportunities for teammates or himself as he logged five sacks as a rotational player. Las Vegas has been running a lot more odd fronts this year which has led to the veteran getting more playing time, and he’s really impressed me as a run defender so far in 2024. You wouldn’t think a guy who has been in the league for seven years would add something to his game like that, but Butler has become a solid every-down player this season.”

Chris: “The Browns were early favorites to beat the Raiders on Sunday (Browns -1.5), but then later in the week, it flipped to the Raiders being favored by 1.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook. Who would you pick against the spread?”

Matt: “I’m not confident about this pick given how the team played last week, but I’ll take Las Vegas. In the past, the team has responded well to getting embarrassed with a good example coming last season where they lost 3-0 to the Vikings and then hung 63 on the Chargers four days later on Thursday Night Football. Plus, Deshaun Watson and Cleveland’s offense seems like they’ve been a mess so far this season, and I think Las Vegas’ defensive line can win in the trenches given the injuries mentioned above.

The Raiders’ offense does make me hesitant (I’d take the under even with the low point total on FanDuel), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Minshew let it loose this Sunday now that the pressure is on to keep his job.”

Thanks again to Matt for taking the time to answer my questions.