Inside: Clelin Ferrell, defense make key stop when needed to set stage for dramatic finish vs. Jets.
It’s fair to be skeptical about a playoff contender that needed a miracle to beat the winless New York Jets.
It’s also fair to consider the ramifications had the Raiders lost instead of pulling out a 31-28 road win Sunday, when Derek Carr threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III against an all-out blitz with 5 seconds to play.
Instead of a three-game losing streak, the Raiders tied last season’s win total and are 7-5 with a quarter of the season to play. The next three games are at home, and the Indianapolis Colts (8- 4) are next.
The Raiders remain behind Cleveland (9- 3), the Colts and Miami (8- 4) for a wild- card berth and are ahead of Baltimore (6-5) and New England 6-6. The Dolphins visit the Raiders on Dec. 26.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden wasn’t about to throw the win back on the basis of it coming against a team that is now 0-12. Not after it came following a 43- 6 road loss to Atlanta and without running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) and safety Johnathan Abram (knee).
“That was a great win for us and I’m really proud of our players and how they finished,” Gruden said. “Plenty of things to clean up. We were missing a lot of key players today and went on the East Coast on a short week after a tough outing. It’s a character-builder for us.
Carr finished 28 of 47 for 381 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring passes of 9 and 38 yards to Darren Waller. He caught 13 passes for 200 yards in the biggest game of his career.
The Jets, who ran for 206 yards on 34 attempts, scored on 3- and 6-yard touchdown passes from Sam Darnold to Jamison Crowder. Darnold also trucked Jeff Heath on a 4-yard touchdown run. Ty Johnson (22 carries, 104 yards) scored on a 1-yard run and Josh Adams added 74 yards on eight attempts.
The Raiders were up 2413 early in the fourth quarter when the offense went stagnant. Then the Jets took the smash-mouth route of running it right at the Raiders to get back in the game and finally take the lead.
ONE LAST CHANCE >> Carr authoring the 20th fourthquarter comeback of his career. He and the Raiders appeared to be out of it once he threw incomplete on fourth-and- 3 from the 9-yard line with 1:49 to play. That play came after Carr hit Hunter Renfrow in the end zone, only to have the would-be scoring play nullified by offsetting penalties as Gabe Jackson was called for holding.
On that drive, as well as the final drive, Carr had missed deep passes for Nel
son Agholor — one slightly under thrown and one slightly overthrown. The Raiders were coming off the lopsided loss in Atlanta and one day later Carr witnessed the birth of his first daughter, Brooklyn. One low, and than an incalculable high.
“This game was kind of the same way. We were doing some good things, then all of a sudden I felt really bad,” Carr said. “I missed two, three throws that just drive me insane. It still bugs me and makes me mad right now. But with that said, to
be able to have time back on the clock, I was just praying for one more chance.”
After the Agholor incomplete pass, 1:37 remained and the Raiders had two timeouts. The Jets ran Johnson three times and got 4 yards. The Raiders called time out twice. When they got the ball back on a Jets punt at their own 39, 35 seconds remained.
First off was a 15-yard pass to Waller to the 46. Carr spiked the ball to stop the clock with 20 seconds left. Carr missed Agholor, then connected with Ruggs for the game winner.
MAKING THE STOP >> Stopping the run on the Jets’ second-to-last possession was no small feat. Cory Littleton and Trayvon Mullen made the first- down stop, Clelin Ferrell on second down and Keisean Nixon and Nick Kwiatkoski on third down.
“After the fourth down and we didn’t get it, we were like, ‘ Damn, we got to get back on the field,’ ” Ferrell said. “And we did something we hadn’t done all game, stop the run for one series.”
RE-INTRODUCING THE RUN >> After an eight-run, 26 pass first half, the Raiders offense opened the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that included nine running plays and concluded with Carr’s 2-yard scramble around right end for a 24-13 lead.
The Raiders ran the ball nine times for 38 yards — one more run than in the first 20 minutes. Devontae Booker had 31 yards on six carries, including a 14-yard run on the opening play of the drive.
Overall, however, the Raiders had a rough go of it on the ground for the third straight game. With Jacobs out, Booker finished with 50 yards on 16 carries and the Raiders had 72 yards on 25 carries.
MULLEN ISLAND >> Trayvon Mullen jumped a pass route by Breshad Perriman for an interception that set up the Raiders’ lead score, a 38-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Waller. It put the Raiders up 17-13 with 1:12 left in the half. Waller, who last had a 100-yard receiving game in Week 2, had eight catches for 123 yards in the half. The score came on a simple hitch play on which Waller spun out of a tackle and ran down the right sideline to the end zone. It was Mullen’s second interception in three weeks. TWO’S A CROWDER >> The Jets countered the Raiders’ first score with a 69-yard, sevenplay drive with Darnold hitting Crowder for 6 yards and the touchdown with 12:02 left in the half. Josh Adams gashed the Raiders defense with a 25-yard run on the drive, with Erik Harris missing a tackle. Sergio Castillo missed the extra point for the Jets.
Lamarcus Joyner left with a foot injury on the play preceding the touchdown and was replaced by Amik Robertson. Joyner returned to the game.
UGLY START >> The Raiders lost cornerback Damon Arnette following a head- on collision with Frank Gore on the first play, then proceeded to give up a 74-yard, 12-play drive for a touchdown.
Darnold was 4 of 6 for 53 yards, and the payoff came on a 3-yard scoring pass to Crowder. Darnold had completions of 22 yards to Perriman and 17 yards to Denzel Mims.