Carr, Waller excelled on offense for Raiders
Raiders coach Jon Gruden had no interest in participating in a post-mortem before the body was cold.
Not with another game on the schedule and the Raiders having a chance to get to 8-8 with the Pyrrhic victory of improving from a 7-9 finish a year ago.
Yet the reality is the Raiders again tantalized their fans with the possibility of the postseason and instead they’re on the outside looking in for 17th time in the last 18 years.
“Statistics are what they are,” Gruden said. “You can read about it and everybody’s going to have their own opinion, but we made some real strides in some areas and we’ve not made strides in others. It’s real obvious and we’ll address that at the end of the season.”
The end of the season is Sunday in Denver against the Broncos (5-10), with the bright spot being road games are where the Raiders have done their best work with a 5-2 record as opposed to 2- 6 at Allegiant Stadium.
No sense in waiting to hand out some awards in 2020:
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER » Quarterback Derek Carr. Even before the season began, speculation remained that Carr was playing for his job in 2020 and could even be beaten out by Marcus Mariota. He responded with his best year. Not many quarterbacks outplay and beat Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes in the same season. Carr
guided the Raiders to 12- 4 in 2016, but he was a better all-round quarterback and more in command of the offense in 2020. He’s the least of their problems.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR » Tight end Darren Waller. He’s been good all season, but has closed with a flourish down the stretch at the same time where his team fell on hard times. With 98 receptions for 1,079 yards, he’s seven catches from breaking Tim Brown’s record for the most receptions in a single season. Josh Jacobs, the Raiders’ second Pro Bowler, is the runner- up with 976 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns, although the yards have come with more difficulty at 3.8 yards per carry.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR » Vacant. It’s been such a monumental letdown on the defense it would ring hollow to single out anyone as being a standout.
BIGGEST WIN » A 40-32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 22. It prompted a Raiders victory lap — and deservedly so, considering the venue has been their house of pain ever since Andy Reid took over as head coach. It’s still the only game the Chiefs have lost in more than a calendar year.
EASIEST WIN » The Raiders’ defense had a field day with five takeaways against the Denver Broncos in a 37-12 win at Allegiant Stadium, one of only two home victories all season.
TOUGHEST LOSS » The Raiders were already essentially out of the playoff picture so there’s some recency bias, but how do you painstakingly set things up for the game-winning field goal, make the Miami Dolphins use all their time outs and allow them to get the points with 19 seconds remaining? Being outclassed 4427 by the Indianapolis Colts at home in a “show me” moment as far as being a contender is a close second. It led to the dismissal of defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAY » Yes, it was the winless (at the time) New York Jets, but Carr calling the correct protection to beat a zero blitz and finding an alley to throw a 46-yard game-winning touchdown strike to rookie Henry Ruggs III with six seconds remaining was a miraculous bit of theater that would be hard to top. BEST DEFENSIVE PLAY » With Clelin Ferrell pressuring Mahomes, safety Jeff Heath stepped in front of a pass and returned it 47 yards to the 2-yard line to set up a 2-yard run by Jacobs. It put the Raiders up 40-24 with 5:26 to play and all but wrapped up the Raiders’ signature win of the season.