Pressures, Hurries, Knockdowns: Raiders vs. Bills

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Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) celebrates with game ball after a NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Panthers 45-42. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Knockdowns

Derek Carr isn’t an MVP Candidate

Yes, there were still many on that train prior to Sunday’s game against Carolina. They’ve likely bailed off of it now, and if they haven’t, they’re riding solo in the drink car about to crash into a mountain.

With the Raiders leading 24-7 and dominating the game on both sides of the ball, Carr dislocated his pinky finger. On his throwing hand. From a routine snap.

He immediately bailed away from the ball in clear pain, and the Panthers recovered deep in Raider territory. Touchdown, Panthers.

Matt McGloin came in for one ineffective series — just long enough to get absolutely de-cleated — and the Panthers got the ball back. Big strike to Ted Ginn, Panthers touchdown.

Carr comes back in and throws a pick. Panthers touchdown. Due to some weird two-point conversion mistakes and then chasing points, the Panthers score four TD’s but end up with 25 points unanswered.

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Then Carr takes over, and wills the team back with four fingers. Zings the ball like he’d just healed from an injury, not suffered one. Steals the soul from the Panthers as he’s done to so many other teams this season.

The feeling when Carr was injured, and the subsequent lull and sense of worry that filled the Coliseum when he was out, was palpable. It was not quite “the season is over!” but it was definitely “oh man, the season could be over…”

That’s not an indictment on McGloin, who has played passably as a backup in his time in Oakland. Rather it’s an endorsement of Carr and how much his leadership, poise, calm, and clutchness in winning time means to this team.

The roars when he returned were deafening. But he threw the pick and folks wondered if he was okay. Replays showed it was a mental mistake and not a physical one, Carr perhaps trying to do too much to stem the flow of momentum to the Carolina side.

Anyone who doubted if Carr should be an MVP candidate — if not the favorite — need only watch the second half of the Panthers game.

The team fell apart without him. He came back and made a mistake, and then put the team on his back and marched them to another victory.

Carr’s 121.9 passer rating in the fourth quarter is first in the NFL and almost double his miserable 65.9 of a year ago. Rather than wondering if he’d force a play and make a costly mistake, you just know he’s going to make a big play and lead the team to victory.

Any leader that instills that confidence in his team, and then backs it up with tangible results, is a clear-cut MVP candidate. The Raiders waited a long time for a QB, and they’ve found a great one.

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