USA TODAY International Edition
Raiders’ Mack focused on wins, not MVP
When it was all but OAKLAND over, after Khalil Mack again put the finishing touch on an Oakland Raiders victory by stripping the ball from Tyrod Taylor to squash any hope of a crazy miracle, the chant echoed, moved and probably even swirled inside Oakland Coliseum. “MVP! MVP! MVP!” Mack, the irrepressible defensive end, surely deserved to be showered with adoration. Again.
A week earlier, Mack closed out a comeback victory against the Carolina Panthers with a stripsack of Cam Newton in the final minute. Now, Taylor was the victim as Mack provided the exclamation point to a 38- 24 win against the Buffalo Bills.
As much as he felt the vibe of winning again — Oakland ( 10- 2) has produced a double- digit winning season for the first time since 2002 — Mack heard the MVP chants, too. And he wondered.
“Steph Curry in the crowd?” Mack said, referring to the NBA’s reigning MVP, whose home court with the Golden State Warriors happens to be next door. “I didn’t
know Steph Curry showed up today. Ah, but it is what it is. Just balling it, trying to make plays.” How modest. Mack, who extended his NFL- longest streak of consecutive games with a sack to seven, proved again why he’s the leading candidate to bag NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
He’s more than merely the best player on the defense for a first- place team that has won six in a row. He’s the one, fueled by adrenaline, running over sapped opponents like a Mack truck to make the plays in crunchtime.
“He just keeps showing up huge,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. “That’s what the great players do.”
Early in the fourth quarter, Mack barreled in as Taylor set up to pass from his own end zone — the field position the result of a 55- yard punt by Marquette King that pinned the Bills inside the 5 — and caused a pop- up interception by crashing into the quarterback when the ball was leaving his hand.
Nate Allen picked off the pass, and four plays later Latavius Murray scored on a 3- yard touchdown run.
The Bills’ ensuing drive extended deep into Raiders territory, keeping hope alive for Buffalo. Then Mack reached back into his big- play bag with the clinching sack- turnover.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Mack said. “I reached for the ball, and some kind of way it was cradled in my hands.”
It seemed like a higher power also wanted to see some sort of Sunday Special, with two games for the price of one. Halfway through the third quarter, the Bills led 24- 9, executing an aggressive formula that was heavy on the running of LeSean McCoy ( 17 rushes, 130 yards) and cautious enough as to not allow the Raiders to kill them with big plays.
But it changed on a dime, like one of McCoy’s sweet jukes in the open field. The Bills ( 6- 6) gave it their best shot but were ultimately swallowed into the Black Hole. The Raiders won the nightcap 29- 0.
Once the switch was turned on, it was a totally new game. Everything clicked for the Raiders, who scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the second half, each of which was promptly followed by the Mack- led defense forcing a three- and- out.
It was also obvious that all was well with the broken pinkie of quarterback Derek Carr. His 260- yard, two- touchdown performance included an efficient bit of work in producing a field goal at the end of the first half, then a pretty floater of a 37- yard TD pass to Amari Cooper.
“When things were going bad, we just stayed the course,” Carr said.
That’s part of the mind- set now for the Raiders. It was the seventh time they won after trailing in the fourth quarter, but this one didn’t have to go down to the wire. They turned a sputtering start into a blowout, which is what good teams can do.
As Carr alluded to, there’s a resilience and confidence that is getting stronger.
All of which fueled a debate after the latest effort: Which was more impressive, the 29 or the 0?
Del Rio grinned with his diplomatic response. He couldn’t choose. “I’ll take both,” he said.
Yes, there’s something to be said for the type of complementary football that kicked in Sunday.
As Carr put it, “We feed off each other.” And they are obviously eating well. Carr heard the MVP chants, too. He increasingly has been showered with the same praise, given his penchant for coming through in the clutch. He has led the Raiders to four victories this season after they trailed by at least seven points in the fourth quarter. But Sunday, it was Mack who inspired the chants.
“I’d vote for Khalil,” Carr said, matter- of- factly.
In the silver- and- black precinct, Mack wins in a landslide.