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Three Key Plays: Raiders' young receiving corps stepped up when their numbers were called

The Las Vegas Raiders' evolving "don't flinch, don't blink" mentality was on full display Sunday in Allegiant Stadium.

The team came away with its first home victory of the season, scoring 20 answered points against the Cleveland Browns after trailing 10 points in the first quarter. It was an collective team effort with multiple young players stepping up in the wake of injuries to Maxx Crosby, Davante Adams, Divine Deablo and Marcus Epps, just to name a few. The moment wasn't too big for a Raiders roster trying to stack up wins and find consistency week to week.

Nailing down three key plays that most impacted the game for the Raiders was difficult, especially with the plays on special teams, including AJ Cole averaging 58 yards a punt with two downed inside the 20-yard line and Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins missing wide left on a PAT due to pressure from rookie linebacker Amari Gainer.

Nevertheless, without these following three plays, the results of this game could've undoubtedly looked a lot different.

Raiders cut Browns lead 10-7

Second quarter, 9:55

LV 3rd-and-3 at the CLE 3

The Raiders were down 10-0 in the first quarter with a need to respond on offense.

In the final minutes of the first quarter, they began what would be a 70-yard march down the field – relying on two catches for 28 yards from Tre Tucker to fuel momentum. The second-year wideout also used his speed in the ground game and was responsible for the score that put the Raiders on the scoreboard.

On third-and-goal approaching the end zone, rookie tight end Brock Bowers motioned over to the right side with Tucker and Jakobi Meyers to set a shotgun trips formation. As the ball was snapped to Minshew, he handed the ball off to Zamir White who appeared as if he was rushing outside to the right. The Browns interior defensive linemen all sprinted in White's direction.

White then handed off a lateral reverse to Tucker, who was sweeping over to the left side of the field. Bowers picked up a lead block for Tucker, making it a foot race to the end zone for the receiver.

"They called it in the huddle, and in my head, it's a touchdown because no one is running me down," Tucker said postgame. "It's three yards I had to get. I'd bet my life savings I could get three yards down there, so that's what I did."

Raiders lead 13-10

Third quarter, 8:09

CLE 2nd-and-8 at the CLE 49

With Marcus Epps placed on injured reserve after Week 3's game, the secondary has become reliant on safeties Isaiah Pola-Mao and Tre’von Moehrig– who made a big play for the defense in Sunday's win.

The Raiders took the lead in the game with 11:32 left in the third quarter, in part to Tucker's touchdown run and two made field goals by Daniel Carlson. As the Browns were driving the ball down the field on the following possession, quarterback Deshaun Watson scanned the field for an open receiver on second-and-eight.

The Browns called a play action, faking the handoff to D'Onta Foreman which froze the defensive line momentarily. The secondary was also trying to account for James Proche II in the flat, who made a pre-snap motion to the backfield. Lined up in Cover 4 split-safety, Moehrig and Pola-Mao were patiently trying to diagnose the play.

"Especially as safeties, me and Tre both [have] to see the same things," Pola-Mao said. "We have to work with each other. I'm reading the quarterback, he's also reading the quarterback and once the ball is thrown, we've got to break."

As the Browns offensive line held up their blocks, Watson was allotted enough time to find Amari Cooper breaking free in the middle of the field. As Cooper reached for the ball, Pola-Mao came screeching over the middle to get the tackle on the receiver. However, the tackle never came to pass as Robert Spillane got a hand on the ball to tip the pass and it then bobbled out of Cooper's hands.

With the ball in the air, Moehrig made a break on it for the interception with a 16-yard return. It was quite the jolt of momentum for the Raiders, considering the pass had a 79.1 percent completion probability, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

"Trying to lean to Coop's side, that's their main target. Just reading the eyes and Spill did a good job of making the ball float in the air," Moehrig said postgame. "Overthrown tip, so I had to get that."

Raiders take 20-10 lead

Third quarter, 5:30

LV 1st-and-10 at the CLE 18

Moehrig's interception was not in vain, as the Silver and Black scored a touchdown to take a 10-point lead after getting the ball back. It was an all-around effort from the offense in making sure DJ Turner hit paydirt.

With 5:30 left in the third quarter, the Raiders were back in the red zone following a 16-yard rush by Alexander Mattison. Lined up in singleback formation, Turner motioned pre-snap in the backfield, taking the handoff from Minshew. Turner rushed up the left side for an 18-yard touchdown – the first of his NFL career.

There were two reasons as to why the play was executed to perfection. First being the lead blocks made by Tre Tucker and Brock Bowers on Grant Delpit and Greg Newsome to create open space for Turner.

"I can't really see what's going on behind me and I'm just blocking and blocking," Tucker said. "The next thing you know, I just hear the crowd go crazy and I'm like, 'What happened?' DJ's in the end zone and I'm out of bounds with the guy blocking him. Like they say, that's a touchdown block.

"EB [Edgar Bennett] our [wide receivers] coach, the best coach ever, he takes pride in that," Tucker added. "If you want to play here with the Raiders, you've got to be able to block because that just opens up so many other things and it's a team effort. That's my brother. I love DJ to death."

The second factor behind the touchdown was Turner's prowess to pick up yards after contact. The receiver was recorded running a max speed of 17.12 miles per hour on the TD, breaking three tackles on the way to the end zone.

"Don't go down on first contact," Turner said of what was going through his mind. "We made an emphasis about it in practice, trying to break a tackle and make the first man miss. And after that, it was just getting into the end zone. Probably five yards out, I just had to find a way to get in."

"It was a great feeling, but just to help the team get a win, I feel like, is big," Turner added. "Whatever I can do to contribute, I'm unselfish as possible, so I try to do whatever it is. I had to step up and play a little bit more offense today and my number got called. I just made the most of it."

View the best photos from the Raiders' Week 4 matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Allegiant Stadium.

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