Raiders escape Denver with 32-31 win despite their own mistakes

Derek Carr hit Darren Waller with a twopoint conversion with 24 seconds to play Sunday to allow the Raiders to escape the 2020 season with an 8-8 record and a 32-31 win over the host Denver Broncos.

The play followed a 1-yard run by Josh

Jacobs on fourth-and-goal, capping a 77-yard, seven-play drive.

Denver quarterback Drew Lock threw a 92yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy with 6:29 to play after the Raiders had recovered from their own mistakes to tie the game 24-24.

The Raiders scored on a 33-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson, touchdown passes of 28 and 26 yards from Derek Carr to Darren Waller and Bryan Edwards and runs of 28-yards and 1 yard by Jacobs.

Denver had field goals of 22, 37 and 26 yards by Brandon Mcmanus, a 1-yard pass from Lock to Tony Fumagalli, a 12-yard run by Melvin Gordon and the 92-yard strike to Jeudy.

The Raiders end the season at .500, improving by one game over their 2019 record. The Broncos finish 5-11.

Carr finished 24 of 38 for 371 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, Jacobs rushed for 89 yards on 15 attempts and two scores and Waller had nine catches for 119 yards, a touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion.

Denver’s Lock was 25 of 41 for 339 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Gaffes in the secondary have been prevalent throughout the season, and the finale was no different. This time, it was allowing Jeudy to get loose for a 92-yard touchdown pass form lock on a third-and-10 play.

The Raiders recovered from their spate of turnovers to tie the game 24-24 on a 28-yard run by Jacobs, capping a 90-yard, nine-play drive with 7:27 remaining.

Carr had a 25-yard completion to Edwards and three completions to Waller, who eclipsed Tim Brown’s single-season receiving record with his 105th catch.

Henry Ruggs III lost a fumble on a reverse on a crushing hit by Michael Ojemudia — giving the Raiders two turnovers in three snaps — to set up Gordon’s 12-yard touchdown run with 14:54 to play. Lock threw to Jerry Jeudy for the two-point conversion and a 24-17 Denver lead.

C.J. Beathard fumbled on a sack 10 seconds after that Seahawks’ touchdown to spoil his bid at a second straight winning start as the 49ers’

No. 3 quarterback this season. The Seahawks converted that turnover into a touchdown (Alex Collins 8-yard run) to complete a 20-point, fourthquarter swing.

Jeff Wilson’s 3-yard touchdown catch with 23 seconds remaining gave the 49ers’ a dash of hope until the Seahawks recovered an ensuing onside kick. Wilson earlier scored on a 7-yard run to put the 49ers ahead 16-6 with 14:22 remaining, all of which tied a nice bow on his breakout season. Wilson was the 49ers’ leader in rushing yards (600) and touchdowns (seven rushing, three receiving).

The Seahawks answered by pulling within 16-13 on Tyler Lockett’s third-andgoal touchdown catch from a scrambling Russell Wilson, with 10:54 left.

Tight end George Kittle helped put the 49ers ahead for the first time when his 41-yard, one-handed catch set up Tristan Vizcaino’s third field goal of the day (and of Vizcaino’s career as he filled in for Robbie Gould). That 9-6 lead midway through the third quarter could have been greater, but Beathard missed a wide open Kittle in the end zone on second down prior to a third-down sack.

Kittle finished with 7 catches for 68 yards, giving him 41 receptions for 566 yards (two touchdown) in a season marred by a knee injury in the season opener and a Nov. 1 foot fracture at Seattle.

The 49ers pulled even at 6 after Vizcaino’s field goals from 36 and 47 yards. Gould went on the NFL’S COVID-19 reserve list Wednesday, the same day the 49ers reworked his contract and guaranteed him $7.5 million to kick the next two seasons.

The 49ers allowed the NFL’S second-fewest red zone touchdowns entering Week 17, and they forced Seattle to settle for field goals of 36 and 30 yards in the first half for a 6-0 deficit.

While the 49ers’ top wide receivers, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, were inactive with injuries, the Seahawks saw franchise single-season records set by their top duo of D.K. Metcalf (yards) and Lockett (receptions); both milestones came on the same secondquarter drive.

The 49ers’ next-best receivers, Richie James and Kendrick Bourne, started and contributed as expected. James produced a big play (45-yard catch on a first-half field-goal drive) and Bourne came through with conversion catches (11-yarder on fourth-and-3 late in the third quarter).

But now, the 49ers are missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons under

Kyle Shanahan. Their only postseason trip: last year, after going 13-3 before claiming the NFC Championship and then letting a fourth-quarter lead slip away in Super Bowl LIV.

The Seahawks entered Sunday already with their fifth NFC West title in 11 years under coach Pete Carroll.