Carr, Gruden a winning mix in win over Steelers
OAKLAND — As JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers ran down the left sideline after taking a lateral from teammate James Washington, Raiders quarterback and straight-arrow Derek Carr insisted he wasn’t thinking of a swear word.
But there was an accompanying physical reaction with seeing all the Oakland Raiders’ hard work potentially go for naught.
“I almost threw up,” Raider quarterback Derek Carr said as he walked off the podium following a 24-21 win Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Coliseum.
The 48-yard play to the 22yard line set up a game-tying 40-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. But Boswell’s plant foot slipped on the Coliseum turf, he kicked the ball into the line, and the Raiders had their third win of the season before delirious home fans who had been joined by an unusually large number of Pittsburgh supporters.
Draft nerds be damned, the win kept the Raiders on the outside looking in when it comes to the No. 1 overall pick, with the 49ers also winning against Denver.
That’s the way Carr wants it, and no player did more to sabotage the Raiders draft standing. He finished 25 of 34 for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
Have we finally gotten past the breathless speculation that Carr and Jon Gruden are a bad mix, doomed to divorce? Or that Carr has leadership issues which could prematurely end his reign as the Raiders’ quarterback of the future?
I’ve maintained since the
season began the most important development for the Raiders this season would be for Gruden and Carr to develop a chemistry together and for the head coach to have a veteran, CEO quarterback. And despite a 3-10 record, it’s happening and you’d have to be blind not to see it.
All Carr did in the fourth quarter against the Steelers was twice lead his team from behind, completing 11 of 15 passes for 134 yards and both touchdowns on the Raiders’ final two possessions. He looked the part of the $125 million franchise quarterback.
The Raiders got a huge break when Ben Roethlisberger missed four scoreless Pittsburgh possessions with backup Joshua Dobbs at quarterback in the second half. Roethlisberger returned in the fourth quarter and finished 25 of 29 for 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Steelers were lost without Roethlisberger much in the same way the Raiders would be without Carr. At one point this season, Carr had seven touchdown passes, eight interceptions and his equity with home fans from 2016’s 12-win season had pretty much evaporated.