Oakland Raiders v. Cleveland Browns Live Game Day Open Thread

The Oakland Raiders square off against the Cleveland Browns today – this is your open forum to talk all things Raiders football.

There’s little doubt that this is not how Jon Gruden first imagined, and then drew up his return to the Oakland Raiders.

Hailed as a returning hero, welcomed as the prodigal son come home, Gruden’s second tenure with the Silver and Black got off to a rollicking start. It was all smiles, good cheer, and good vibes in and around the Raider Nation.

Safe to say, after three straight losses to open the season, the honeymoon in Oakland is pretty much over. All around the internet, you can see calls to fire Gruden, dump quarterback Derek Carr – and basically burn it all to the ground and start over again.

More from Las Vegas Raiders News

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• Raiders: Bryan Edwards out, Henry Ruggs doubtful for Sunday
• Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
• Raiders fall short in letdown Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots
• Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 3 at New England Patriots

It is worth remembering though, Raider faithful, that it wasn’t all sunshine and roses in Gruden’s first ride with the team either. His quarterback, Rich Gannon, took a full season to get properly acclimated to the offense. That first full season of the Gannon-Gruden marriage didn’t produce the greatest results, if you recall.

And yet, it seemed to turn out okay, didn’t it? Well, it was all going fine until that corpulent pustule Tony Siragusa hit Gannon with a vicious cheap shot, anyway.

And in come the Browns this week, looking like a much nastier, better team than the one that’s gone 1-1-31 over the last two seasons. They’re a team loaded with talent – as well as a couple of Bay Area castoffs in T.J. Carrie and Carlos Hyde – and seems to be a better team than their 1-1-1 record would otherwise lead you to believe.

This is not a team the Raiders can afford to take lightly – not even with rookie signal caller Baker Mayfield making his starting debut. Maybe especially because Mayfield is taking over under center for Cleveland. They’re going to have to react and adjust to a largely unknown quantity, and they’re going to have to do it on the fly.

It’s incredible to think that we’re in week four of this still young NFL season, and this qualifies as a must-win game for the Raiders. While sitting at 1-3 is far from ideal – should they be able to notch a win – it’s still far preferrable to dropping into an 0-4 hole.

Winless after one quarter of the season could be a hole too deep for them to climb out of.

For the Raiders, if they’re going to win, they’re going to have to find a way to do it without safety Karl Joseph – yeah, stop laughing. Joseph is the only one listed as “out” for today’s game. Questionable are cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – and if he can’t go, we could see more of this year’s fourth-round draft pick, Nick Nelson. Defensive tackle P.J. Hall is also on the questionable list, and will be a game-time decision.

For the Browns, they’ll be without linebacker James Burgess Jr., who is out with a knee injury. Also questionable for today’s game will be Damarious Randall, who’s dealing with a heel injury, tight end Seth Devalve, who’s got a hammy, and quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who’s got a back issue in addition to his concussion issue.

For the Raiders, this is a must-win game. They simply cannot afford to drop another one to start the year. Not if they hope to claw their way out of the mess they’ve created through the first three weeks.

There are plenty of subplots and storylines out there. What are some of the biggest? What gives you hope the Raiders can pull this one out? And what gives you pause? What is your prediction for how this game plays out?

This is your virtual soapbox to talk all things Raiders v. Browns, and all things Raiders football. So step on up, call your shot, speak out, and be heard!