Oakland Raiders: Winners and Losers from Week 6 Win vs. Browns

It was yet another gutsy win for the Oakland Raiders. It wasn't pretty and they had many on the edge of their seats until the very end, but when it mattered most the Raiders stepped up and sealed the deal. 

In a game that the fans, players and franchise of the Oakland Raiders paid tribute to the man that started it all for the Silver and Black, they lived up to his motto of, "Just Win Baby!"

It was a game mostly dominated by the Oakland Raiders which made it all the more puzzling when the Browns had a chance to tie the game late. 

Let's take a look at some of the good, bad and downright ugly from the Raiders victory.

Hue Jackson

Hue Jackson is quickly becoming one of the most dominant figures in the Oakland Raiders franchise. His passion and charisma are infectious and his will to do anything to win echo that of the late owner of the Raiders. 

Hue Jackson pulled out all the stops against the Cleveland Browns. He also lands on the Winner and Loser side of this list for different decisions. 

Winner

The fake FG call was huge! Not only was it huge, it was executed to perfection and resulted in Raiders TE Kevin Boss going 35 yards for a touchdown. It was a big momentum swing and had the fans rocking O.co Coliseum.

When Jason Campbell left the game injured, in trotted Kyle Boller. It was fourth down and one yard to go. It was also on the Raider 34-yard line and he called a QB sneak. It was definitely a sign of faith in the offensive line but also in the QB/Center exchange.

Loser

 Late in the game the Raiders looked to control the clock. Kyle Boller led the Raiders on a drive that ended on the Browns' 5-yard line. The Raiders turned the ball over on downs and Colt McCoy led the Browns on a 95-yard touchdown drive.

The TD pulled the Browns to within seven points and they recovered the onside kick. Had the Raiders elected to be content adding three points after having the ball for over seven minutes on that drive, the Browns would not have been threatening to tie the game.

Sometimes it's OK to kick the FG instead of going for it on fourth down. I understand the mentality of going for it and even if you don't make it, the Browns have a long way to go to score.

I also feel that the Raiders are not utilizing Kevin Boss and his ability as a pass-catcher and downfield threat the way they should. I hope to see more of him in the future. 

Jason Campbell

Did the season flash before our eyes? Did we truly realize how important Jason Campbell was to the success of this team? If not, we will now. 

Winner

Jason Campbell showed poise in the pocket and guts getting out of there and running to pick up yardage. He was doing an excellent job of managing the offense and keeping the Raiders moving forward.

When he reached out to try to pick up the first down and LB Scott Fujita landed with all of his body weight on Campbell, his collarbone buckled.

Loser

 In the end, Campbell is a loser in this game because he will miss significant time this season, if not the remainder of the season with this injury. A team that was building so much momentum and delivering on the promise of so much young talent will miss his leadership.

On another Campbell scramble, he lunged forward without being contacted and coughed the ball up. This led to the Browns' first scoring drive and a large momentum swing. I'm not trying to add insult to injury but it merited a mention.  

Raider Defense: General

In general the Raiders defense stepped up and played very tough against the Browns offense. 

Winners

They stymied the Browns rushing attack of Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty as they limited the duo to 49 yards on 17 carries. It was an impressive showing for the Raiders front seven and made the Browns a one-dimensional offense.

The defense applied a ton of pressure to Colt McCoy on passing plays and even though they came away with only two sacks, they flustered the young QB into errant throws and had multiple opportunities for turnovers slip through their fingers.

The secondary held up well in coverage. The Raiders asked a lot of their cornerbacks as they blitzed more than any game this season.

Losers

The Raiders demonstrated poor tackling throughout the game. Too many times I saw a running back or wide receiver slip what should have been a sure tackle and go for bonus yardage. The Raiders need to play fast, hit hard and put guys on the ground. 

All in all, they played well.

Jacoby Ford

Winner

Jacoby Ford was a difference maker once again for the Silver and Black. 

Just after the Jason Campbell fumble that led to the Cleveland Browns' first touchdown, the Raiders felt the let down in momentum. It was short-lived as on the kickoff, Ford started up the middle, broke to the sideline and took it 101 yards for a TD.

He tip-toed down the sidelines and how he stayed in bounds is anyone's guess. His body was leaned out over the boundary and yet he somehow kept his balance enough to scamper into the end zone. 

The Raiders seized momentum and control of the game and began to dominate the Browns until Campbell left the game with his injury.

Later in the game, on a very creative play call, the Raiders hit Jacoby Ford on a misdirection play out of the backfield. He caught a short pass and accelerated past Browns defenders for a 27-yard gain.

He showed that he can be a vital resource for explosive plays and the Raiders must look to find more ways to get the ball in his hands.  

Demarcus Van Dyke

Winner

Rookie CB Demarcus Van Dyke performed very well in coverage. He was tasked with guarding fellow rookie Greg Little and kept him relatively quiet. Not only was Van Dyke in great position the majority of the time but he also showed improvement locating the football. He broke up a couple of passes and had a chance for a couple of interceptions.

Van Dyke has good length and is a very good athlete. He is smooth in coverage and gets better each week. 

The Raiders have been banged up in the secondary this year and have called upon Van Dyke and fellow rookie Chimdi Chekwa to fill in, and they have done so admirably. With Van Dyke and Chimdi Chekwa, the Raiders secondary appears to be getting stronger as the season moves forward. Once they can get everyone back and healthy, it will be a surprisingly strong unit. 

Michael Huff

Winner

Huff continues to cement himself as the backbone of the secondary. He has been asked to play safety in the Raiders scheme often employing a single-deep safety. That is a tough assignment for some of the best players in the league and Huff has done a great job. 

Huff was also moved to corner when the Raiders were decimated by injuries and showed he is more than capable of making that transition at a moment's notice. 

On Sunday he was a jack of all trades. He came to bring pressure on Colt McCoy when asked to blitz. He held down the deep secondary when playing safety and he locked down receivers when in coverage. He broke up multiple passes and with a physicality that is quickly becoming the Raiders' identity on defense. 

Huff is invaluable to the Raiders' playoff hopes and an integral part of a consistently improving defensive unit. 

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Winner

Darrius Heyward-Bey may have had a solid game against a guy filling in for injured Browns CB Joe Haden, but it makes his third straight solid game this season. 

He is quickly becoming the featured WR in the Raiders offense. He is using his speed effectively and is excelling at picking up yardage after he catches the football. I saw him snare a difficult pass using just his hands. This was a welcome sight as he still catches many passes with his body. 

But hey, he's catching many passes! The improvement has been more than noticeable. He has established himself as the No. 1 receiver for the Raiders and that is music to the ears of so many Raider faithful. 

The young corps of wide receivers with the Raiders are a talented group and will look to be a strength for years to come. 

Aaron Curry

Winner

Curry had an impressive debut with the Silver and Black. After just one practice with the Silver and Black, Curry was thrust into the weak-side linebacker spot. He looked comfortable in the Raiders defense and could be the latest in a long line to find their stride with the Raiders.

Al Davis would have loved the acquisition of Curry. It was an extremely low-risk and ultra high-reward trade. Curry is a physical linebacker with speed and instincts. Many players go to Seattle only to see a downward turn in their career. Luckily for Curry and the Raiders, the Seahawks were willing to give up on him after just a couple of years. 

He was unquestionably the highest rated athlete in the 2009 draft and that talent doesn't just disappear. Curry showed that he was much more than a product of his environment or a combine warrior. He flashed his athleticism when he chased down a run to the opposite side of the formation on Sunday. He knifed through blockers and snared Montario Hardesty after only a couple yard gain. 

Rolando McClain

Loser

I know I've been pretty rough on McClain but he needs to continue to improve. Maybe the game hasn't slowed down enough for him yet. Maybe he is drifting towards the action because he doesn't yet trust himself to make the proper read. 

I haven't given up on him in any way. On Sunday he had a play where he recognized the run and fired into the gaping hole in the defensive line. Instead of laying a big hit on Montario Hardesty he wrestled him down. While I may not have been happy with his reluctance for impact, I was overjoyed to see him actually fire off and into the line of scrimmage to make a play. 

It was the only time he really seemed to make an impact play all game. I saw him get juked multiple times and be left nowhere near the action. I also saw him hesitate to come up and drill Peyton Hillis when he read a swing pass out of the backfield. Instead he waited for Hillis to catch the ball and then failed to make the tackle. 

He seems to be playing pretty upright instead of getting a little low and having a little more balance when attacking, and his tackling is still lackluster at best. 

It's something, but it's still not enough from McClain.

Darren McFadden

Winner

It was another solid outing for the NFL rushing leader. He racked up 91 yards on 20 carries and added a touchdown. He was punishing the Browns defense for every tackle they made. 

Hue Jackson has been smart the last few weeks in his use of McFadden. He understands that No. 20 is the bread and butter of this offense and he needs him healthy every week. He also understood that he will need Michael Bush as well. He did a good job of getting Bush some carries to keep McFadden fresh and get Bush in a groove offensively. 

McFadden has shed any label closely resembling a bust and has established himself as one of the premier running backs in the league. It will be tough sledding moving forward, as without Jason Campbell teams will key on the Raider ground game. 

Hue Jackson and his staff will have to look for creative ways to keep teams from stacking the box, selling out to stop the run.

Desmond Bryant

Winner

Desmond Bryant made the most of his opportunity on Sunday. He appears to enjoy playing defensive end. He was a disruptive force for the better part of the game. 

He, like Huff, appeared to be a jack of all trades. The Raider lineman out of Harvard showcased his abilities to track down running backs and quarterbacks. The Raiders also felt comfortable enough to drop Bryant back into zone coverage. 

Bryant has a high motor and a big heart and he excelled in his opportunity. It didn't all show up in the stat sheet but make no mistake, Bryant earned himself some extended time moving forward. 

Chuck Bresnahan

Winner

Chuck Bresnahan threw everything at Colt McCoy, including the kitchen sink. The Raiders consistently brought blitzes and pressured McCoy into hurried decisions and poor throws. The Raiders could have easily left the game with three interceptions. 

Whether it was Giordano or Huff flying up from the secondary or Curry and McClain blitzing as linebackers, the Raiders never stopped applying pressure. Even after the Browns recovered the onside kick, the Raiders defense would not budge. 

They held the Browns without it getting eventful in the end like the Texans game. Their personnel shut down the run and played well in the secondary. They were able to hold the Browns down long enough to emerge with a victory. 

It was a huge performance by the defense on a day when the offense lost its leader. The Raiders will be counting on that very defense to make plays in the coming weeks. If they continue to get healthy and play better each week, the Raiders might just make it through the Jason Campbell injury OK. 

Kyle Boller

Winner

Kyle Boller stepped into a most difficult situation on Sunday. He entered the game for Jason Campbell when Campbell had the Raiders moving the ball effectively. He also entered the game on 4th and 1 in Raiders territory. 

Hue Jackson showed faith in Boller and the Raiders picked up the first down. 

Boller made enough plays with his arm and his legs to keep the Raiders from losing the game. 

Loser

Boller also makes the list as a loser. Even though he had no reps at practice, he is still a professional football player. Some of the throws he missed were to wide open receivers. Darrius Heyward-Bey would have easily been over 100 yards on the day if Boller had shown even marginal accuracy on some of his throws. 

If the Raiders really do move forward with Boller at the helm, he must find a way to hit the Raider weapons when they're open and keep the chains moving. The team cannot afford an offensive collapse. 

Louis Murphy

I just want to end my slideshow by addressing this young man. The Raiders need Murphy to regain the fire that made him a valuable asset on offense. On Sunday he showed he is still quite a long way from regaining that form.

Loser

Murphy got in the game and had a great opportunity for a big play downfield. Instead of showing the heart and toughness to go after the catch, he noticeably peeked at the safety and pulled up without giving any effort to catch the pass.

It amazes me that in a time in the NFL when receivers are almost as protected as QBs, that Murphy will still show such a lack of intestinal fortitude. It was very disheartening, and Hue Jackson did the right thing. The young man showed he's not ready to get on the field. 

Murphy will simply not get on the field because of a lack of depth at wide receiver. Times have changed in Oakland and that unit is much improved. Under Hue Jackson, everybody needs to earn their keep and if Murphy doesn't begin to round into form, he could see himself washing out of Oakland.

For the record, I like Murphy, I love this team, and I believe that Hue Jackson is another in a long line of Al Davis head coaching decisions that may show the man knew more than we thought. Hue is holding everyone accountable for their actions and that is what this franchise needed most.