Plunkett Goes Long--Browns Go Home a Loser

Veteran quarterback Jim Plunkett may be nearing 39, but he can still get the job done. And so can the Raiders’ defense.

Plunkett, who was elevated to first-string status just last week, threw three touchdown passes Sunday--two of them to Dokie Williams--to spark the Raiders to a 27-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland, which rolled up 558 yards in total offense during a 26-16 victory over Miami last Monday night, managed just 217 yards and eight first downs against a fierce Raider defense.

The decision left both teams with 7-4 records. The Raiders have won seven of their last eight games while the Browns lost for only the second time in their last eight outings.

“Jim throws the ball well, he takes more chances than anyone else would probably take,” said Williams, who caught two touchdown passes from Plunkett in the second half as the Raiders rallied for a 17-13 win over Dallas a week ago Sunday.

“Jim is willing to call more audibles and he’s not afraid of moving around and taking a chance that a ball will be intercepted as easily as it will be caught,” Williams added.

“Sometimes, I try to be conservative, and other times I like to take a risk,” said Plunkett, the NFL’s oldest quarterback. “When you do that, it makes for a big payoff.

“Our defense played exceptionally well. Our offense did some good things. It was better than some days, and not as good as others.”

Plunkett, who turns 39 on Dec. 5, gave the Raiders the lead for good by heaving a 46-yard touchdown pass to Williams after just 2:30 of play.

Plunkett’s second touchdown pass was a three-yarder to Todd Christensen in the opening minute of the second quarter.

In between those two touchdowns, Chris Bahr kicked a 40-yard field goal, meaning the Raiders had a 17-0 advantage after less than 16 minutes of play.

After the Browns narrowed the gap to 17-14, Plunkett threw a 43-yard scoring pass to Williams on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Raiders some breathing room.

Bahr’s second field goal of the game, a 27-yarder with 1:57 remaining, completed the scoring.

“Plunkett came through for us like we hoped he would,” Raider Coach Tom Flores said. “It’s just nice to see a performance like that, because we needed it from everybody.”

Plunkett, replacing the demoted Marc Wilson as the Raiders’ first-string quarterback, finished with 14 completions in 26 attempts for 220 yards and no interceptions. He was sacked only twice.

Plunkett took over for Wilson in the second half of the Dallas game and completed seven of 12 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys.

“We saw the Raiders at their best and they clearly had the advantage today,” Cleveland Coach Marty Schottenheimer said. “We had some opportunities and didn’t capitalize.

“I’m proud of our football team because we played hard. We played every snap and never backed down.”

The Browns, who are tied with Cincinnati for first place in the AFC Central Division, made it 17-7 on Kevin Mack’s one-yard dive with 8:01 left before halftime, and drew to within three points on a two-yard run by Mack with 6:28 to play in the third quarter.

But Cleveland could get no closer because of a Raider defense which made life miserable for quarterback Bernie Kosar of the Browns all day.

Kosar, who completed 32 of 50 passes for 401 yards without being sacked or intercepted in his team’s win over Miami last Monday night, completed only 15 of 34 for 188 yards with two interceptions against the Raiders.

Kosar was sacked six times and pressured on numerous other occasions by the Raiders.

The game at the Coliseum was played before a crowd of 65,461.

By winning, the Raiders moved into a second-place tie with Kansas City in the AFC West, two games behind the Denver Broncos, with five games left to play.

Kosar and the Cleveland offense were awful in the early going Sunday.

Kosar, who turns 23 later this month and is one of the NFL’s youngest quarterbacks, misfired on his first seven passes before hitting Webster Slaughter for a 35-yard gain with 11:13 left in the second quarter. The play gave the Browns their initial first down of the game.

The Raiders took the opening kickoff and moved 80 yards in five plays to go ahead for good. Plunkett threw a 24-yard pass to Rod Barksdale before hitting Williams with his first scoring pass.

Williams caught the perfectly thrown pass in full stride at about the Cleveland 17-yard line on the left sideline and went into the end zone untouched.

The Raiders needed to move only seven yards for their second touchdown. A Kosar pass was intercepted by Stacey Toran, whose 19-yard return put the ball at the Cleveland 14-yard line. Mack was hit with a facemask penalty at the end of the play, moving the ball to the Browns’ seven.

The Browns moved 58 yards on nine plays for their first touchdown after linebacker Chip Banks recovered a fumble by Plunkett at the Cleveland 42. Kosar’s pass to Slaughter was the big play of the drive.

Cleveland went 80 yards on 10 plays for their second touchdown. A 51-yard pass from Kosar to Brian Brennan was the big play.

The Raiders moved 55 yards on only three plays for their final score.