By Nick Avila:
The crowd in Oakland went from loud and raucous to dead silent in an instant in the fourth quarter as quarterback Derek Carr was pummeled for a sack and stayed down.
Carr immediately looked at the sideline after being rolled up on and motioned for the training staff as a stunned sideline — and stadium — held their breath. It was only the 16th sack the Raiders’ have allowed this year.
The MVP candidate reportedly has a broken fibula and head coach Jack Del Rio said Carr is “out indefinitely.”
Earlier in the week, Carr along with three of Oakland’s offensive lineman (center Rodney Hudson, left tackle and left guard Donald Penn and Kelechi Osemele, respectively,)were voted to the Pro Bowl. In addition, wide receiver Amari Cooper, safety Reggie Nelson and defensive end Khalil Mack were also selected.
Even with the injury, the Raiders’ balanced offensive attack from the Oakland Raiders earned them their 12th win of the season Saturday as they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 33-25.
Carr threw for three touchdowns in the second quarter and Raiders’ running back DeAndre Washington scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground in the third as the Raiders had a bounce-back game after barely defeating the San Diego Chargers last week.
The Raiders defense got off to a strong start, holding Andrew Luck and the Colts to a three and out in their first possession of the game, but the Oakland offense couldn’t muster much of its own in the first.
It wasn’t until an interception with under a minute left in the first quarter that the Raiders showed some life. Nate Allen picked off a Luck throw and the Raiders were in business at their own 46.
Oakland utilized the turnover, which would be the first of three for the Colts, to put points on the board as Carr threw a touchdown to Andre Holmes on the first play of the second quarter making it 7-0.
Luck and the Colts, however, responded almost instantly with a touchdown of their own just two minutes later to even the score.
The Raiders, using a no huddle for much of the drive, went 75 yards in no time to re-take the lead. A turnover from the Colts set Oakland up once again and the Carr threw his third touchdown of the quarter to running back Jalen Richard. Two missed extra points from Sebastian Janikowski gave Oakland a 19-7 lead at half.
In the third, it was all Raiders once again as they drove down the Colts’ throats and scored on the ground twice to take a 33-7 lead with 8:40 to play in the third.
Even with Carr’s injury, the Raiders were able to hold on to the win.
As bad as the game may seem, Jack Del Rio led a team with David Garrard to the playoffs before. The Raiders team is filled with talent and even if Carr isn’t able to play the rest of this season, the offensive line is one of the best, the team has two tremendously talented wide receivers and the defense is full of big-play performers and veterans who have been there before.
The Raiders now wait for tomorrow to see if they clinch the AFC West. If the Kansas City Chiefs fall to the Denver Broncos, the Raiders would win the division’s crown, but if the Chiefs win then the Raiders will have to win next week, without their MVP-caliber quarterback, to clinch the division title.
With Carr’s injury, the 12-3 Raiders’ Super Bowl chances are certainly in question.
Oakland heads to Denver to face the Broncos next week.