Oakland Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns: What's the Game Plan for Oakland?

The Oakland Raiders game plan doesn’t require a fancy diagram or a complicated film study to notice what the coordinators should try to accomplish against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3.

Cleveland’s run defense hasn’t just sprung a leak with a steady drip; it’s gushing at a steady flow. In Week 1, the New York Jets gouged the Browns’ interior defense for 154 yards, and the Tennessee Titans gained 166 yards on the ground in the following week.

Week	Opponent	Rushing Yards Allowed	Touchdowns
1	New York Jets	154	2
2	Tennessee Titans	166	0

The Browns obviously know about their poor run defense, so one would assume they’ll do everything to address the weakness. However, until the Browns prove they can stop the run, the Raiders should plow through the defensive line using a dynamic running back.

Attacking Browns’ Poor Run Defense

The “Tay Train” has yet to leave the Raiders backfield in full throttle. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave leaned on the arms of his quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the regular season.

In fairness, Oakland played from behind from start to finish against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

Musgrave decided to keep the ball in quarterback Derek Carr’s hot hands in critical moments, and his choice yielded positive results.

Cleveland’s secondary features two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden and veteran cornerback Tramon Williams, who’s providing exceptional coverage, per Pro Football Focus.

This week, Musgrave must tailor the game plan to exploit the Browns’ obvious weakness.

Key Player: Latavius Murray

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

In Week 2, running back Latavius Murray carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

After two weeks of light emphasis on the rushing attack, Murray doesn’t seem overly concerned. However, he does express desire to handle more carries, as any other running back would in his situation, per CSNBayArea.com reporter Scott Bair.

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You never know when it will happen, but I would obviously love the ball in my hands more, as any offensive player would. My main focus is being productive with the touches I’m given. I want to break some long ones and create some explosive plays. You’re not going to have that every time, but you have to keep working on them.

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Murray says all the right things, but deep down inside, any football player wants to become an instrumental part of his team’s success. A favorable Week 3 matchup should place Murray in the spotlight as a featured player with at least 20 carries.

In Bair's report, Carr indicates that matchups determine and dictate the offensive design week to week:

“It depends on what kind of defenses they’re playing, what kinds of packages they have on the field and those types of things,” Carr said. “There are definitely times where we’re going to give the ball to him 40 times. I’m good with that. As long as we win, I don’t care what we do.”

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

In reference to Carr’s statement, what’s the most justifiable situation to run the ball 40 times? When the opposing defense gives up rushing yards by the bulk.

Murray could catch lightning in a bottle with his combination of speed and power. It’s hard to imagine 40 carries on Sunday, but 20 to 25 should suffice in wearing down the Browns defense.

Contain Travis Benjamin

The Raiders have one particular player to contain on the outside. Backup quarterback Johnny Manziel’s connection with wide receiver Travis Benjamin put him on pace to crush his previous season totals in all wide receiver categories.

The switch to quarterback Josh McCown could hurt Benjamin’s Madden video game statistics, but the Raiders must keep an eye on the Browns’ explosive receiver.

Key Player: T.J. Carrie

Benjamin has outperformed the Browns’ receiving corps as a group and deserves cornerback T.J. Carrie’s attention exclusively.

	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Receiving TDs	Drops
Travis Benjamin	7	6	203	3	0
All Other Browns WRs	23	11	104	0	1

Carrie continues to prove his talent supersedes the tag of a seventh-round pick. In fact, the second-year player ranks with the likes of established cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Aqib Talib in terms of the percentage of catches he allows in coverage.

Player	Team	Targets	Recs Allowed	Catch %	Yds Allowed	TDs Allowed
Davon House	JAX	4	1	25	37	0
Patrick Peterson	ARZ	9	3	33	86	1
Aqib Talib	DEN	9	3	33	36	0
Perrish Cox	TEN	3	1	33	6	0
T.J. Carrie	OAK	12	5	41.7	63	0

Quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco have challenged Carrie. He was targeted more than the other four cornerbacks with a lower catch percentage and at least 100 snaps.

Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. should explore the idea of matching his best cornerback against the only player who could possibly beat his defense in deep coverage. Benjamin caught all three of his touchdown passes on a deep route of 20 yards or more.

Key Player: Keith McGill

Everyone, including Norton, forgot about cornerback Keith McGill in the secondary. He didn’t take a snap against the Bengals in the regular-season opener and only played 12 snaps in Week 2 in relief of cornerback D.J. Hayden, who experienced cramps in the sweltering Oakland heat.

As NFL analyst Cris Carter would say on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, “Keith McGill, where you at?”

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press/Associated Press

Well, he’s on the bench, and it seems odd considering McGill challenged Hayden for the No. 2 spot at cornerback very early in the offseason. After an early push and significant snaps in the preseason, Norton buried the fourth-round pick in terms of playing time in the first two games.

To make matters worse for McGill, the team claimed cornerback David Amerson off waivers. Norton will likely explore working Amerson into the rotation at the expense of McGill to find out what the second-round pick can contribute.

Norton could experiment with McGill at safety to limit Charles Woodson snaps. The veteran safety will continue to play with a harness on his right arm. Woodson played far too many snaps in Week 2, and it showed in his poor tackling—he missed a total of three tackles.

McGill and Woodson should share a role at safety to put a cap on Woodson’s snaps. It prevents an injured player from having to do too much at a weak position. Secondly, it keeps McGill in the fold, playing at a position he’s familiar with from his college days with the Utah Utes.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

McGill would essentially line up at safety to help contain Benjamin over the top where the wide receiver has burned his last two opponents. Norton could hide McGill’s weaknesses in pivoting and changing direction as a clear blanket safety who prevents the deep the ball behind the secondary.

Game Prediction

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The Raiders must respect the Browns secondary. This game won’t end in a blowout victory, but Oakland should leave Cleveland with a win.

The Browns couldn’t stop a bruising ball-carrier in Jets tailback Chris Ivory and struggled corralling a marginal running back in Dexter McCluster in Week 2.

Murray comes into this game fresh with very little tread on his tires. He’ll come out chomping at the bit and should accumulate at least 100 yards on the ground. His success will open up play-action passes to wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper as the game progresses.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The balance on offense stemming from establishing the rushing attack will keep the Raiders in control of this game. Cleveland’s offense doesn’t have enough weapons featuring a quarterback who only played 19 snaps with his new team.

McCown’s unfamiliarity within the offense will handicap the Browns in the early going, which gives the Raiders a head start on the scoreboard.

Both of the Browns’ featured running backs move the ball at a snail’s pace, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Carrie and a safety positioned deep should suffice in covering Benjamin and holding onto a sizable lead.

Prediction: Raiders 23, Browns 13

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All statistics are provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted. 

Week 2 statistics and play-by-play analysis provided by NFL.com.