Oakland’s 24-20 win over Kansas City on Thursday Night Football came at a perfect time for the Raiders.
(Wait a second. You mean last night wasn’t a dream?)
Maybe we all should’ve seen it coming. But against 7-3 Kansas City, who hasn’t allowed a rushing game all season and considering that Oakland hasn’t ran the ball well all season, there was no way that the Raiders would beat the Chiefs, right?
Maybe it’s fitting that the Raiders, and possibly only, win of the season comes under the national spotlight of Thursday Night Football, against one of the top teams in the AFC in the Chiefs and fitting that under the bright, nationally televised lights that Kansas City allowed their first two rushing touchdowns of the year – even more fitting that the Raiders were the ones to do so.
It was perfectly fitting that as it started to rain at O.Co Coliseum in Oakland that the Raiders ended their drought, winning for the first time in 16 games.
The best part about Oakland’s win is watching rookie quarterback Derek Carr grow up in the national spotlight. With the Chiefs up 20-17 late, Carr led a 17-play, 80-yard drive that took seven minutes off of the clock, ending it with a nine-yard touchdown pass to James Jones for the go-ahead score.
“I like this feeling better than the other one,”
Carr dashed into the end zone after throwing the go-ahead touchdown like he won the Super Bowl. Raider Nation celebrated the win Thursday night like they won the Super Bowl. The Raiders getting the go-ahead score on the final drive shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s watched them all season. In their 10 losses this season, the Raiders scored a touchdown on the final drive in five of them. Thursday night, Carr led the Raiders to their sixth last-drive touchdown in the 11 games played. Something else to look forward to is the progress of running back Latavius Murray, who had the first 100-yard rushing game for a Raiders running back this season, and seemed as if he would have a night of the ages, racking up 112 yards on just four carries with two touchdowns before an early concussion ended his night. His first score came on an 11-yard run to the left, ending the Chiefs run of not allowing a rushing touchdown all season and the second one came on a 90-yard run through the heart of the Chiefs defense early in the second quarter to put Oakland up 14-0 early.
“We put him in there early and got him going early,”
Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano said after the game.
“The way he ran the ball today he earned more snaps, no doubt about it. We just have to see how he comes out of this thing.”
Latavius Murray's 90-yd TD run, longest TD run by Raiders RUNNING BACK since Bo Jackson's 92-yarder vs Bengals in 1989
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 21, 2014
Murray’s 28 yard average on his four carries is higher than Darren McFadden’s yardage total in four games this season and his 90-yard score racked up more yardage than Maurice Jones-Drew has ran for on his 36 carries all season.
The win still does, however, come with some flaws. Oakland needs to use the film from the fourth quarter to learn how to finish games and needs to learn clock management, despite exciting situations.
When linebacker Sio Moore sacked Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith in a play that just about sealed the victory, Moore ran into the Chiefs backfield with rookie Khalil Mack with about 40 seconds left. Smith, being the “game-manager” that he is, got the Chiefs back to the line and was ready to snap the ball before veteran Justin Tuck called a timeout.
“From my vantage point I was seeing 11 on 7 and that wasn’t good for us,” Tuck said. “They’ve got a free play there. Call time out and lick your wounds.”
“It’s a very emotional game and sometimes your emotions get the best of you. You’re not thinking straight. And some of our guys weren’t thinking straight.”
“He pretty much yelled down my throat,” Moore said. “I got the message pretty clear.”
Expect Moore’s and Mack’s celebration to be on ESPN’s next “C’mon man” segment.
These Raiders still have a long way to go to become winners like the Raiders of old were. However they won’t be 0-16, won’t compete with Detroit for worst team in the league and now have something to build on.
They officially found their quarterback, possibly officially found a running back of the future and now know what winning is like.
The best part about the win is that they did so on Thursday night, in the national spotlight.
Because if you’re going to shock the world, there’s no place better to do so than with the whole country watching.
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