The Oakland Raiders ultimately captured the overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but not without some repercussions. The Raiders set a NFL record with 23 penalties in the game, as Jack Del Rio’s squad constantly shot themselves in the foot.
However, the team was able to pull off a miraculous comeback, thanks in part to the play of quarterback Derek Carr. With the team trailing by a touchdown, Carr drove down the field and found tight end Michael Rivera on a bullet pass to tie the game.
After both teams battled back and forth in overtime, the Raiders held the ball with under two minutes remaining, attempting to avoid the third tie in the past two weeks in the NFL.
On fourth down, the team needed four yards to keep the drive going, but Carr had other plans in mind. He hit receiver Seth Roberts on a large gain, as Roberts broke two tackles and ran to the end zone to cap off the victory.
In a postgame interview, Carr commended the team atmosphere in the locker room and the willingness to compete for each other, via Raiders.com:
“I think that’s what I’m fired up about is not just the wins, is that our character of this team,” Carr said. “We genuinely love each other and we’ll fight for each other no matter what.”
The Raiders are now 5-0 on the road for the first time since 1977. With a family atmosphere building, it is no wonder why defensive back Sean Smith stated he felt something special with this group.
The comeback effort capped off a miraculous Week 8 matchup, improving the Raiders record to 6-2. The Denver Broncos also won against the San Diego Chargers, setting up a Week 9 matchup with identical records at the Coliseum.
Carr finished the contest with a career high 513 passing yards and four touchdown passes. His 117.4 quarterback rating was the second highest it has been this season, although the statistics were season highs.
The 25-year-old quarterback capped off the victory by stating they have familiarity with it, but understand there are many facets of the game that still need to be improved:
“You definitely feel confident because you’ve done it before,” Carr stated. “We practice it a lot, so you definitely you have the confidence in it that way. It’s so funny man. We have such a long way to go as a team. We see the end goal in sight and what we want the team to look like, but we’re just not there yet.”
Del Rio and his staff now move forward into a heated Week 9 matchup, which very may well determine the winner of the AFC West division.
The comeback effort capped off a miraculous Week 8 matchup, improving the Raiders record to 6-2. The Denver Broncos also won against the San Diego Chargers, setting up a Week 9 matchup with identical records at the Coliseum.
