Monday's NFL Roundup: Carlson FG gives Raiders 16-14 win vs COVID-ravaged Browns
Cleveland — The Raiders didn't appreciate the NFL postponing their trip. They made sure their postseason chances weren’t canceled as well.
Daniel Carlson's 48-yard field goal as time expired sent Las Vegas to a 16-14 win on Monday night over the COVID-19-depleted Cleveland Browns in a game pushed back two days by the NFL amid an uptick of virus cases across the league.
Down by a point, quarterback Derek Carr patiently drove the Raiders (7-7) into Cleveland territory in the final two minutes.
Then Carlson shrugged off being iced by the Browns to boot his winner, keeping Las Vegas in the playoff mix. The Raiders had been upset with the league's decision to delay the game from Saturday until Monday.
The loss was devastating for the Browns (7-7), who would have vaulted into first place in the AFC North with a win. Instead, they fell into last place in the tightly packed division with three games remaining.
Due to a virus outbreak, the Browns were without quarterback Baker Mayfield, coach Kevin Stefanski and several other prominent players, including top receiver Jarvis Landry and edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
Cleveland third-string quarterback Nick Mullens had brought the Browns back from a 10-0 deficit in the third quarter and given them a 14-13 lead by throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Harrison Bryant with 3:45 left.
The Browns were ravaged by positive COVID-19 cases last week. Despite the league postponing the game for two days, an asymptomatic Mayfield was unable to produce a negative test in time to play. Cleveland was without a dozen regulars.
The Browns were also without Stefanski, forced to miss his second big game in less than a year after he tested positive.
Carr was checked by trainers before limping to the sideline. He came back for the Raiders' next possession and finished 25 of 38 for 236 yards and a touchdown to Bryan Edwards.
►Minnesota 17, Chicago 9: Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the struggling and short-handed Chicago Bears.
The Vikings (7-7), part of a tight pack of teams vying for one of the NFC’s seven playoff spots, were in line for their most lopsided win before Justin Fields threw a touchdown pass to Jesper Horsted on the game’s final play.
The final play aside, Minnesota withstood several scoring threats by Chicago down the stretch coming off a tight win over Pittsburgh in which they nearly blew a 29-0 lead.
Given the state of the Bears (4-10), the result was hardly a surprise. Chicago lost for the eighth time in nine games, and with 14 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, that seemed inevitable. Receiver Allen Robinson was on it, as was the starting secondary.
The health issues also hit the coaching staff, with all three coordinators testing positive for the coronavirus during the week. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai was cleared to return hours before kickoff.
Cousins was 12 of 24 for 87 yards with an interception and got sacked four times. The two-time Pro Bowler also connected with Justin Jefferson for a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter and threw a 7-yarder to Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the third. Dalvin Cook ran for 89 yards.