CosmoKramer
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FirstEnergy Stadium
Cleveland, Ohio
Sunny. Cool. 56 °F, Wind: 14.28 mph/W
Cleveland, Ohio
Sunny. Cool. 56 °F, Wind: 14.28 mph/W
Even though some Cleveland Browns fans were calling for Johnny Manziel following last week's loss, coach Mike Pettine isn't ready to turn things over to his first-year quarterback just yet.
Fellow rookie Derek Carr is still trying to put it all together for the winless Oakland Raiders.
Cleveland tries to hand the visiting Raiders a 13th consecutive loss as these last-place teams square off Sunday.
Brian Hoyer compiled a 99.5 passer rating before going 16 of 41 for 215 yards and committing two turnovers in last Sunday's 24-6 loss at previously winless Jacksonville.
"We got our butts kicked," Hoyer said. "They handed it to us."
Pettine briefly discussed going to Manziel last weekend but opted to stay with Hoyer, who will be under center again Sunday.
"Nothing's changed," Pettine said. "Each week when the offensive staff gets together, and I'll jump in with them, too, they put the (game) plan together. It's what gives us the best chance to win. So if the situation this week maybe calls for (Manziel) to play some then that will be the case.
"But we're not going to hit the panic button after one loss. While we know that the quarterback position needed to be more productive, it was more symptomatic of the entire offense."
The Browns (3-3) also struggled to run the ball in their first game since losing Pro Bowl center Alex Mack for the season, posting a season-low 69 yards on 30 attempts. They went 4 for 17 on third down and were outscored 17-0 in the second half.
"This one is going in a box and getting buried in the backyard," Pettine said. "We need to move on from it quickly. At the same time, we're not going to ignore it. It's not going to be one of those where we gloss over it and move on quickly because of the disappointment.
"There's a lot to learn from it and it's critical for us to leave here today knowing what went wrong, knowing how to fix it and moving forward to the next one."
The Browns get another opportunity against a winless team in the Raiders (0-6). Off to its worst start since going 0-13 in 1962, Oakland has dropped 12 straight dating to last year and 16 of 18 on the road since 2012.
The Raiders were done in after falling behind early in last Sunday's 24-13 loss to Arizona, their second game under interim coach Tony Sparano. Carr threw for 173 yards as Oakland was outgained 365-220.
"Nobody is handed the trophy at the end of six weeks," Sparano said. "In my mind, we have 10 games to go right now. I've seen teams get into this tournament with eight wins, with nine wins, whatever the case is.
"That isn't really our concern right now. Our concern is getting one win and winning the next game. That really has to be our focus, because if we look at the picture down the road right now, the parade might pass us by."
More consistency from Carr could go a long way, as he ranks 29th among 35 qualifying players with a passer rating of 80.9.
The Raiders are last in the NFL in several key categories, including points (92), yards per game (282.7), red zone drives (10), first downs (94) and time of possession (25:01). They're allowing an average of 26.3 points to rank 25th.
"We're building," defensive end Benson Mayowa said. "Every week we come in and we're building; we're getting close. We just have to get a W, and that's what we're going to do."
The Raiders average a league-worst 69.3 rushing yards but will be going against a Browns defense that yields an NFL-high 155.5 per game.
Oakland has dropped eight of the last 11 meetings and totaled 16 points in losing its last two visits to Cleveland.
