Las Vegas Raiders: Top 5 moments from the Derek Carr Era
By Jason Willis
Las Vegas Raiders: Top 5 moments from the Derek Carr Era
A Wild Win in the West
After suffering a broken leg to end his 2016 season and potentially costing him an NFL MVP award, Carr and the Raiders were all the talk in the pre-season. With Carr returning to an offense that had added Marshawn Lynch and Jared Cook, many picked Oakland to win the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, things went south after a 2-0 start as they would lose their next four games. In a week four match-up with the Broncos, Carr would suffer broken bones in his back, an injury that would cause him to miss the next week’s game. At 2-4 and a date with the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football on the schedule, this was a must-win for Oakland.
From the start of the game, it was clear the Raiders felt the urgency. On the heels of two long first-quarter touchdowns from Amari Cooper, the Silver and Black trailed the 5-1 Chiefs 20-14 at the half. The scoring continued in the second half as well so when Carr got the ball late in the fourth with another comeback win on his mind, his team was down 30-24.
After a huge, Hail Mary-Esque throw to Jared Cook spotted the ball at the one-yard line with little time on the clock, Carr and the offense sent Raider Nation on the roller coaster ride of a lifetime. First, it was an offensive pass interference by Michael Crabtree that wiped a touchdown off the board. Next, on two consecutive plays, pass interference by the Chiefs kept the Raiders’ hopes alive. Finally, Carr rolled to his left and fired the ball in a perfect spot for Crabtree to secure it.
When Giorgio Tavecchio hit the extra point with no time on the clock, all of Raider Nation sighed in relief. When they had a moment to collect their thoughts, they realized they had just watched one of the craziest games in franchise history.