OAKLAND -- The Raiders blew late leads in every stop of their 0-3 start to the season. They struggled to finish drives and opponents -- an issue that crept up again Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
The Silver and Black were up six points with 10 minutes left at the Coliseum and let it slip. Again.
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The Raiders gave up two unanswered touchdowns late, but they managed to tie it with less than a minute remaining and win in overtime.
This one ended 45-42, and was a wild game that finally gave the Raiders a win.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Raiders' victory:
Raiders finally finish
NFL
The Raiders were down eight points late in the fourth quarter, seemingly headed for another heartbreaking loss. They couldn’t convert on a two-minute drill, but they got second life and maximized it.
Derek Carr threw a touchdown pass to Jared Cook and then a game-tying 2-point conversion to Jordy Nelson.
They forced overtime and, after a few stutters and stops, rookie kicker Matt McCrane made a 29-yard field goal to give the Raiders the win.
Winning this game this way can be a real shot in the arm for locker-room morale after the Raiders struggled to close games out the first three weeks.
Carr’s momentum killers
Nobody in the NFL has more interceptions than Carr. He threw two Sunday and now has seven on the season.
Turnovers are never good, but Carr's picks made life hard on the Raiders this day. His first came late in the first half, as the Raiders drove into field-goal range. Carr’s pass went off Cook’s hands and was intercepted by E.J. Gaines, to eliminate the possibility of points.
The second interception came on the Raiders’ first series of the third quarter. The Raiders were driving when Carr lofted a pass for Martavis Bryant, who was working against double coverage. Damarious Randall came down with the ball instead, and returned it 50 yards to set up an easy score. Mayfield, making his first NFL start for the Browns, threw a touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry three snaps later to give Cleveland a 14-point lead.
Not every interception is Carr’s fault, but he has thrown too many this season and put a struggling team in a bind too often in this early season. The Raiders' defense set up some easy points, or this result could’ve been decided early and in the Browns’ favor.
Big-play D
The Raiders had one takeaway in the first three games. They doubled that total in three quarters, with huge plays that kept them close heading into the fourth.
Cornerback Gareon Conley opened the scoring with a pick-six that bounced off Browns wide receiver Antonio Calloway’s hands and into his grasp. Conley returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.
Two second-half fumble recoveries put the Raiders in great field position, offering easy chances to score for a team that hadn’t started a drive in opposing territory.
Carr hit wide receiver Amari Cooper for a touchdown following the first recovery and Nelson on the second. The Raiders had to go 26 yards combined on both scoring series, a real positive considering the offense struggled to sustain drives.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther had Mayfield under pressure, and he got the most out of his defensive line. That unit, led by rookie defensive lineman Maurice Hurst, created steady pressure on Mayfield, a slippery sort who's tough to bring down.
The Raiders gave up 487 yards of offense, including two long touchdown runs, but they managed to make big plays that kept the score tight.