Raiders win thriller at home on game’s final play, 31-30.
Carr comes up clutch on final drive, hits Crabtree with no time left to beat Chiefs, snap skid Cooper comes alive with big game, Lynch exits early, and Raiders survive wild night
OAKLAND » Derek Carr had a chance to finally validate his astronomic salary in 2017, if only for one game, with one final drive.
Less than three minutes on the clock, ball on the Raiders’ 15-yard line, Carr under center with one timeout, Chiefs up six.
Maybe even Oakland’s season on the line.
Thiswas as much of a mustwin for the Raiders as a Week 7 game can be.
There were fight son the field, fights on the sideline, plays unlike anything we’ve seen at the Coliseum this year. But when all subsided and the wonkiness of “Thursday Night Footbal” l had taken it’s course, the scoreboard had more points next to the Raiders logo than their op- ponent’s for the first time in five games.
The jumbotron read “Raiders 31, Chiefs 30.” With a masterful final drive by Carr, and a gamewinning extra point by Giorgio Tavecchio with no time on the clock, the Raiders (3- 4) orchestrated a comeback win that may just have kept their playoff hopes afloat in this young season.
“Two-and-five did not sound good,” Carr said. “That made our stomach hurt.”
Forget Amari Cooper’s two
first-half touchdowns and Tavecchio’s twomissed field goals, his first twomisses of the year. Marshawn Lynch got tossed for shoving a referee and CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson reported offensive line coach Mike Tice broke up a fight between Michael Crabtree and Donald Penn on the sideline. If anything, the “Thursday Night Football” brand got a huge boost, actual plays aside.
But sinceCooper has been dormant almost all season, maybe it’s fair to highlight his 113 first-half receiving yards and two first-quarter touchdowns. In Weeks 2-6, Cooper reeled in 84 combined yards with no touchdowns. He finishedwith 210 yards on 11 catches, a pleasant surprise for Oakland given his disappearance for the past month.
Cooper scored on the Raiders’ first drive of the year and took a five-week break before re-introducing himself to the 2017 season in grand fashion Thursday night. One touchdown went for 38 yards down the left sideline, the other on a crossing route and subsequent burst of speed down the right sideline 45 yards to paydirt.
“I expect to have a big game every game,” Cooper said. “I’m happy that it turned out.”
The Chiefs answered because, well, theymay still be the NFL’s best team. Alex Smith was the new-and-improved Alex Smith. Tyreek Hillwas the newUsain Bolt. KareemHunt hardly looked like a rookie third-rounder who only started Week 1 because the actual starter, Spencer Ware, got injured in preseason.
The Raiders didn’t need Lynch to counter the Chiefs. Along cameDeAndreWashington, the third-string running back who has been non- existent all season, with a 4-yard rushing score to put Oakland back up. The Chiefs responded with 10 unanswered points and Tavecchio hit a field goal to cut Oakland’s deficit to six.
Now it was up to the same Raiders’ defense that allowed the Chargers to march downfield for a win last Sunday to dig up a stop.
With a third-down sack split by Khalil Mack and Denico Autry, Oakland got its chance.
“We knew what was at stake,” Mack said.
A 39-yard completion from Carr to Cooper kept the drive alive into Chiefs territory. A 13-yard pass to Jared Cook on fourthand-11 revived the Raiders. A touchdown- called-back to Cook left the ball at the doorstep. Then three yellow flags and two incompletions and one final catch – on the fourth chance to tie – by Crabtree. And one final extra point by Tavecchio. All with the clock reading 0:00.
“Maybe on the sideline I was thinking about, ‘What am I gonna do to celebrate?’ ” Tavecchio said. “I wanted to have confidence and imagine positive thoughts.”
Marquette King embraced his kicker and tight end Lee Smith lifted Tavecchio in the air.
The Raiders flooded onto the field, having somehow escaped with a win.
Key plays
COOPER’SSECONDTD » Cooper’s second long score was more important than the first, serving as the counterpunch to Kansas City’s first strike. The Raiders scored the game’s first touchdown for the second straight week, but Travis Kelce’s 10-yard touchdown catch could’ve initiated Oakland’s 2017 funeral.
Cooper’s 45-yard dash to the goal line, punctuated by a burst of speed past Eric Murray to reach the clear, provided a much-needed answer to the Chiefs’ first touchdown of the night to prevent the game from spiraling out of control early on. CHIEFS’ TIPPED TOUCHDOWN » On what seemed like the lone deep ball Smith didn’t throw on the money, McGill positioned himself perfectly for a deflection, if not an interception. Wilson stood well behind him, which turned out perfectly for Kansas City. McGill’s two hands popped the ball directly into Wilson’s path, and he pranced into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. CRABTREE’S TOUCHDOWN CATCH » Carr rolled left with no time on the clock and found No. 15 for a 2-yard touchdown to tie the game at 30. Crabtree only finished with three catches for 24 yards, but none were more important than the two that set Oakland up to win the game with Tavecchio’s foot.
Key players
AMARI COOPER » For the reasons aforementioned, Cooper gets his first overly positivemention of the season. ALEX SMITH » The Chiefs quarterback is the frontrunner for NFL Offensive MVP, in all likelihood. His Thursday night stat line: 25 for 36 with 342 passing yards and three touchdowns. He threaded balls perfectly to receivers on several long throws. Even when he didn’t (see: McGill tip drill) the ball found Wilson for a 63-yard touchdown. And wouldn’t you know, the Raiders – still the only team in the league without an interception – didn’t pick Smith. DAVID AMERSON » Not key in a good way for No. 29. After King pinned the Chiefs at the 1-yard line, Amerson surrendered 97 yards worth of deep balls on two plays. Three total plays for the Chiefs, 99 yards (including a Hunt two-yard run), one 64-yard score by Hill.
After another lengthy completion on Amerson’s watch, a foot injury him to leave the game for Sean Smith. Hill’s touchdown exposed the Raiders’ secondary for what it is for the most part, slow and bad.
• Lynch was ejected late in the first half for making contact with an official. He rushed off the sideline to interject in a scrum that ensued following a late hit on Carr. In the process, he shoved a referee trying to separate Lynch from the commotion and was subsequently tossed.
• Cook logged the best game of his young Raider career with six catches on seven targets for 107 yards, including two crucial grabs on the game-winning drive.