The Oakland Raiders saw their Super Bowl dreams end after quarterback Derek Carr suffered a broken fibula against the Indianapolis Colts. Although the Raiders won the game 33-25, Carr’s season-ending injury doomed the team’s playoff fortunes.
Heading into the 2017 NFL season, the Raiders will be looking to reproduce their success assuming Carr comes back completely healthy. On Instagram, Carr is already determined to return to form:
After Carr went down, backup quarterback Matt McGloin was named the starter against their divisional rival, the Denver Broncos. However, McGloin hurt his shoulder in the second quarter and was replaced by rookie Connor Cook. The Raiders would go on to lose to the Broncos, 24-6, falling to 12-4 and into the wild-card. Without their superstar signal caller, Oakland eventually lost to the Houston Texans 27-14, abruptly ending their season.
Behind Carr, the Raiders started off 12-3 and were a favorite to come out of the AFC, a far cry from their 0-10 start just two years ago. The third-year quarterback started all 15 games he played in, throwing for 3,937 yards and 28 touchdowns, while only being intercepted six times. His efforts put him in the conversation for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
Despite a disappointing end to their season, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the young Raiders. The team had a league-high seven players named to the Pro Bowl and head coach Jack Del Rio is sure to be in the running for Coach of the Year. If they are fortunate to avoid any major injuries and continue to improve, the Raiders will be Super Bowl contenders next year.
