Three and Out: Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers

Khalil Mack

What else is there to say about Khalil Mack?

After a “slow start” to the season — he didn’t record a sack in the first three games — Mack has been completely dominant every week. He now has a sack in six consecutive games (8 total over that span) and has 9 sacks total on the year.

Khalil has also forced a fumble in three of his last four games, including a strip-sack to seal the win against the Panthers. Not to mention he’s been a force against the run.

Oh, and against Carolina, Mack also had a Pick-6 in the 2nd quarter that gave the Raiders a 24-7 lead. He was the best player on either team, on either side of the ball.

What a stat. The torch has been passed from one legend, to a legend in the making.

Overcoming Adversity

As they’ve done all season long, somehow, someway, the Raiders found a way to win.

Use whatever analysis or advanced stats that you want to use to try to explain what is happening with the 2016 Raiders, but truth be told, the only thing you need to know is that good teams find a way to win. And that’s exactly where we are with the Raiders — a good team that simply finds a way to get it done.

For the Raiders, “getting it done” starts and ends with Derek Carr. With a dislocated pinky and a glove on his throwing hand, Carr engineered his ninth game-winning drive since the beginning of the 2015 season, and his fifth of 2016.

With a 24-7 lead, this game shouldn’t have had any adversity. But football is a fickle sport, where momentum can change and a game can flip upside down in a moments notice. And that’s what happened in this game.

Over the course of a single quarter, the Raiders gave up 18 unanswered points. They lost a comfortable lead, had their franchise QB ailing, the defense gave up multiple big plays, the air was sucked out of the stadium — but none of that mattered. Oakland responded with 11 unanswered points of their own to once again seize the lead, and they never looked back.

It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty, and it’s never easy. It’s frustrating and it’s stressful, but at the end of the day, a win makes all of it worth it.

Michael Crabtree

Michael Crabtree aka Mr. Gold Chain aka King Crab, or whatever you want to call him — #15 showed up on Sunday.

Crabtree bounced back from a terrible game in Mexico City — 3 catches for 5 yards — to log 8 receptions for 110 yards in the win, with several crucial catches down the stretch. Including this beauty.

Crabtree also hauled in a 49-yard bomb from Derek Carr on Oakland’s final drive of the game. He drew a pass interference on that play, lost his helmet, and walked towards the sideline with a brash strut, knowing the Raiders were about to put the game on ice.

And that’s exactly what happened. A few plays later, Janikowski kicked what would prove to be the game-winning field goal.

There might only be one or two players on this team that play with as much emotion, with as much passion, as Crabtree does. He embodies everything there is about being a Raider, and all these years later, it’s wild that it’s even possible to say that.