Browns kicker Cody Parkey gave tips to Raiders' Daniel Carlson on kicking amid wind

CLEVELAND — Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson’s revelation immediately sparked a question on whether his Browns counterpart had crossed the line.

Carlson was a redshirt freshman at Auburn University when Browns kicker Cody Parkey was a senior there. So when the former Tigers teammates reunited in warmups Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium, Carlson asked Parkey about the wind.

“He said he has never seen any wind like that,” Carlson said. “He was giving me some pointers to the best of his ability. We were just kind of talking through what we were thinking with the wind. Just trying to figure it out as quickly as we could and do our best.”

The gale coming from the west was announced as 35 mph at kickoff. Raiders coach Jon Gruden said it was blowing from 38-45 mph during the game and was so concerned afterward he wasn’t sure the team’s plane would be able to take off.

That’s not to mention the way the wind swirls in the Dawg Pound end of the stadium and the crazy weather conditions all afternoon.

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“To all the people back in Las Vegas, we haven’t seen a drop of rain in 193 days,” Gruden said. “It was raining here. It was snowing here. It was hailing here. All three in the same day.”

While Carlson saw how confounding kicking in the east end can be, he made 3-of-4 field goal attempts and Parkey went 2-for-3 as the Raiders pulled out a 16-6 victory.

Parkey's 37-yard attempt that sailed wide left into the Dawg Pound end with 1:54 remaining ended the Browns' hopes of a last-gasp comeback. Parkey connected from 41 and 38 yards, while Carlson's makes came from 29, 33 and 24 yards.

Asked if Parkey should have kept his mouth shut, Carlson said, “I think some guys do, but I’m going to figure it out either way. I think most specialists around the league are pretty friendly. Most of us kind of know each other, whether it is from different camps or just training throughout the years or playing against each other.

“It was pretty obvious that one end was extremely windy and extremely tough.”

Parkey spent 14 games of the 2016 season with the Browns and Sunday was his 11th career game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Even he couldn’t have warned Carlson what would happen on Carlson’s first attempt, a 41-yarder into the Dawg Pound end on the Raiders’ first drive. The ball violently hooked, hit the left upright and bounced out.

“That was by far the windiest game I have ever played in and I think most of this team has ever played in,” Carlson said. “I aimed at the right upright, hit basically an A+ ball exactly how I wanted, but didn’t factor in that wind quite enough. Luckily, able to learn from it, bounce back and ... get some points on the board the rest of the game.”

The Raiders better handled the weather conditions and the wind, which Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said “affected a few throws. The wind got a hold of a couple of them.”

Both teams were forced to abandon any thoughts of a deep passing attack and stick to short to intermediate throws and the running game. The longest pass Mayfield completed went for 25 yards to Jarvis Landry, and the longest by the Raiders’ Derek Carr was a 17-yarder to running back Devonate Booker.

The Raiders totaled 45 rushing attempts to the Browns’ 22 and the visitors dominated the ground game, picking up 208 yards to the Browns’ 101. The Raiders’ Josh Jacobs carried 31 times for 128 yards, while the Browns’ Kareem Hunt managed 66 yards on 14 attempts.

Asked if the weather affected his game plan, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said, “I think we talked about that going into this game and doing the things that we felt would move the ball. Obviously, the wind was a consideration but, bottom line, we just did not make enough plays on offense or defense.” 

Gruden said the wind was an obstacle for kickers and quarterbacks on both sides.

“You can’t imagine it. I can’t explain it. You thought when you were going one direction, you were with the wind and then maybe you were against the wind. But the wind was against everybody — Cleveland and Las Vegas — all day today,” Gruden said.

Carr said that’s why he elected to run the ball six times for 41 yards.

“With how the weather was, anything over 10 yards, your guess was as good as mine as to where that ball was going to end up. It was ridiculous,” Carr said. “It rained, it sleeted, it snowed and it was snowing sideways.”

Gruden challenged his team over its past performances on the road, especially when traveling east and competing in cold weather. Carr said he prepared for every scenario last week.

“I practiced with two gloves on. I practiced with no gloves on. I switched it up because the forecast was saying it might rain or it might snow or it might be windy,” Carr said. “I have never played a game with a right-handed glove on, but I did that. I took it off when it stopped raining, then put it back on when it started again and then took it back off later. If you let that stuff get in your head, then you would be a headcase.”

The Raiders (4-3) took their coach’s demand to heart, while the Browns (5-3) were unable to match their toughness and energy.

“The weather does not really matter,” Raiders safety Johnathan Abram said. “It does not matter where we go or where we are at. We can show up on the concrete at 6 in the morning and we are going to be ready to play ball.”