OAKLAND, Calif. — It took more than four games and almost 10 years, but Jon Gruden has his first victory since his return to the NFL as Oakland Raiders coach.
The Raiders’ 45-42 overtime win over the Cleveland Browns at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday was Gruden’s first win since Nov. 30, 2008, when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It is Gruden’s first win with the Raiders since Oakland beat the New York Jets in a playoff game on Jan. 12, 2002.
As such, Gruden has tied Vince Lombardi in career coaching wins with 96 victories.
Rookie kicker Matt McCrane‘s 29-yard field goal woith 1:46 to play in the extra period improved the Raiders’ record to 1-3 and dropped the Browns to 1-2-1. McCrane joined the team this week after an injury to Mike Nugent, whom Oakland had signed after Eddie Piñeiro suffered an injury in training camp.
The Raiders, who had been outscored by a combined 64-17 in the second half in the first three games of the season and 37-3 in the fourth quarter, rallied late against the Browns, who held a 42-34 lead.
Oakland forced overtime by driving 53 yards in six plays and 56 seconds, Derek Carr hitting tight end Jared Cook for his second TD of the day with 34 seconds to play. Carr then connected with Jordy Nelson for the 2-point conversion on a fade to the left corner of the end zone, beating former Raiders cornerback T.J. Carrie on the play.
Marshawn Lynch gave an impassioned speech to the offensive line in the first half and he finished with 130 yards rushing on 20 carries. It was his highest rushing total since he went for 140 yards for the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 9, 2014, against the New York Giants.
Derek Carr was picked off twice, giving him a league-leading seven interceptions, but he also had four TD passes to Jordy Nelson, Amari Cooper and Cook. Carr passed for 437 yards in completing 35 of 58 attempts.
Perhaps most rewarding for Gruden and the Raiders was beating former coach Hue Jackson, who had an 8-8 record for Oakland in 2011 but was fired by incoming general manager Reggie McKenzie.
Gruden and Jackson were on the same coaching staff at the University of the Pacific in 1989.
Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley had a 36-yard pick-six for the Raiders to give them a 7-0 lead about four hours before McCrane’s field goal gave Gruden his first win in almost a decade.