Wind, Sleet and Football: The Cleveland Way to Play

It was a Midwestern type of football game on the field on Sunday. Wind and sleet were both mixed into the equation.

The Las Vegas Raiders traveled to the Midwest today. They beat the Cleveland Browns 16 to 6.

It’s November.

It was bound to be windy with some sleet on the field.

Oh, it’s below 40 degrees on the field too.

In hindsight, the Browns should have the clear-cut home-field advantage.

Cleveland also had fans in the stadium. If there’s anything to be said about the Browns faithful, they're pretty darn close to Raider Nation.

But if there’s anything to note about the Midwest in November, it’s the fact that the weather is unpredictable.

It was unpredictable alright.

Placekicker Daniel Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter. The pigskin curled to the left with the wind, hit the upright and went out.

His counterpart, Cory Parkey missed a 37-yard field attempt in the fourth quarter when the wind blew it wide left.

Both were kicking on the same end of the field.

It wasn’t just kicking that was impacted.

Early on, Derek Carr threw a long shot to rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. It's a throw that is typically on target, but the wind carried the ball five or so yards further than it normally would.

As both quarterbacks quickly realized the long ball was unreliable, both teams opted for short to mid-field throws.

Then there are the dropped passes from both sides.

In the first quarter, tight end Darren Waller dropped the ball straight to him. A rare drop by one of the best tight ends in the league.

In the third quarter, Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry dropped a pass in the end zone, as the ball came loose in the process of the catch. It was ruled a touchdown on the field, but overturned after a replay review.

Tight end David Njoku dropped a pass straight to his chest from Baker Mayfield, forcing the Browns to punt the ball in the fourth.

Whether it’s the wind, precipitation, the cold, or a mix of all three, balls were dropped often today.

Then there’s simply the fact that the conditions on the field constantly changed during today’s game.

Multiple times, it was sleeting on the field. But minutes later, it would clear up.

The wind constantly changed directions.

While it was definitely the Cleveland way to play, the Raiders came into town, shook things up and won the affair, 16-6.

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