On a day that began with admittedly slim playoff hopes, the Oakland Raiders did everything they need to — and more — to beat the Denver Broncos, and yet somehow snatched defeat out of the claws of victory. The silver lining? The win wouldn’t have meant anything as the Tennessee Titans got the win they needed to clinch their own playoff berth. The negative? The Raiders lost — again — in heart-wrenching fashion.
Numbers tell a different story
On Sunday, the Raiders out-gained the Broncos by more than double — 477 total yards to 238 — but still came up a point short due to some bad luck, poor refereeing and dreadful execution. Take Oakland’s first four drives, for example…
- Drive No. 1: Oakland can’t convert on third-and-one from the Denver 20, Daniel Carlson misses a 39-yard field goal.
- Drive No. 2: Oakland drive stalls at the Denver 5-yard line, Carlson hits a 23-yard field goal.
- Drive No. 3: Oakland drive stalls at the Denver 1-yard line after back-to-back dreadful refereeing decisions keep the Raiders out of the end zone. Turnover on downs.
- Drive No. 4: Marcell Ateman catches a pass in Denver territory before fumbling.
At halftime, the Raiders had 251 yards and just three points (thanks to a touchdown off the turnover, the Broncos actually led 10-3). As Josh Dubow pointed out, the Raiders were just the third team since 2000 to have 250+ yards and three or fewer points at halftime.
Unfortunately, the second half wasn’t much different as the Raiders gained another 226 yards, but could only muster 12 more points. In what has become normal this year, twice more did the Raiders drive into the Denver red zone and kick field goals.
Attrition forces Gruden’s hand
After scoring what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown with seven seconds left in the game, Jon Gruden surprised some folks by deciding to go for the win and the two-point conversion. Unfortunately, former Raider Shelby Harris got his hand in the passing lane and made a great play to deflect Derek Carr‘s pass.
Asked after the game why he went for two there, Gruden explained, “we had one linebacker left.” Whelp, what are you going to do?
(In a bit of good news, a win in this game would have moved Oakland’s first-round pick down at least four spots — maybe more depending on tie-breakers)
Carr balls
I think Carr heard the “cold weather” talk because he came to play on Sunday. He finished with a season-high 391 yards and no turnovers despite his top receiver not registering a catch (Tyrell Williams), his tight end getting called in to help block Von Miller the entire second half and his best weapon missing the game altogether (Josh Jacobs).
What’s funny about Carr’s performance on Sunday is that aside from the numbers you could see exactly what you wanted to see. Think Carr sucks? Key in on the wide-open touchdown to Hunter Renfrow he missed in the first quarter. Think he’s great? Key in on the dozens of balls that hit his receivers right on the hands throughout the day.
Crosby puts a bow on it
While rookie Clelin Ferrell hasn’t produced the numbers many would have liked to see from a top-five pick, his rookie classmate Maxx Crosby absolutely has. After registering a sack-and-a-half and 1.5 more tackles for loss, he finished the season with 10 sacks and 17 TFL to go along with four forced fumbles and four passes deflected. All in all, it was an elite rookie season for a guy who didn’t have a long list of Pro Bowlers supporting him.
Draft season (and rumor season) is officially here
If you’re a longtime Raider fan, you’re probably surprised it took this long, but 2020 NFL Draft season is officially here. And, well, I guess we can say it’s officially Carr rumor season as well. If you’re into the draft stuff, keep your eyes peeled on here for as much draft coverage as you can possibly handle coming once the playoffs wrap up.
