Raiders show good, bad sides in thriller
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Frustrating and thrilling.
The Raiders’ 24-21 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was a microcosm of their season. At times, the Raiders looked like a team on the rise, a team that could make some noise should it sneak into the playoffs. Other times, watching them felt like struggling to open childproof medicine.
These are the travails of a team learning to win. And it feels as though the Raiders should be further along.
Every fiber of a functional football brain knows the Raiders should have mopped up the Titans on their own field. Many Titans fans seemed to agree, as half the stadium was empty.
Yet, somehow, they almost lost. Should have lost.
Yet, they still won. Stopping
the losing streak and keeping the playoff fantasy alive.
“There was a reason to be discouraged,” coach Jack Del Rio said. “You’re in control of the game, you fumble it, and all of a sudden they go down and get a score. And it’s, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?’ Well, we’re going to go down there and find a way to get it in there and get a score.”
The Raiders, for all their promise, are still hampered by inconsistency and inexperience. Their talent seems greater than the production. And just when it seems they deserve a tongue-lashing, they do something to remind you of what might be in store.
Sunday, it was a gamewinning touchdown pass by Derek Carr. It was a game-clinching interception by Nate Allen.
The Raiders are 5-6, still with a glimmer of postseason hope. Still good enough to foster hope of doing the improbable. Still progressing enough to be excited.
Which only means one more week of, again, walking to the edge of writing this season off.
Carr is a shining example of frustrating and thrilling. Sunday, he vacillated between exceptional and pedestrian.
The last drive was a perfect snapshot.
It was fourth down inside the final two minutes. The Raiders were staring at a fourth straight loss and needed a big play. And Carr ... throws a jump ball to Andre Holmes with three receivers around him?
The ball fell to the ground incomplete. Instantaneously, Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn, overcome with disappointment, crumpled to the turf as if he had been shot. He joined Raiders fans across the nation in mourning as he lay on his back.
In that moment, the Raiders had lost. An odd play call followed by a questionable decision had doomed the Silver & Black to a fourth straight loss.
“I just saw a whole bunch of bodies just start dropping,” Carr said.
But there was a flag. Defensive holding, a referee claims to have seen. A Raiders reprieve.
And, impressively, Carr took advantage.
In two plays, the Titans were put in their place. He dropped a 12-yard pass in the crevice of the Titans defense to Mychal Rivera, then threw a perfect out to Seth Roberts for the gamewinning touchdown.
It took poise. It revealed his boldness. It was what you want from the quarterback.
“I told Derek,” safety Charles Woodson said, “‘Go win this one, kid.’ ”
In the same series, it was the best of Carr and the part that makes you wonder if and when he will become elite. In the same series, the Raiders looked beaten and unbeatable.
The Raiders could be 8-3. Should be at least 6-5. They had the chance to be in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot. They could be sitting pretty in the AFC. Frustrating. The Raiders could be 8-3. Should be at least 6-5. They still have a chance to make the playoffs, a year removed from 3-13.
Thrilling.