Given 2nd chance, Derek Carr lifts Raiders to much-needed win
CLEVELAND — Derek Carr just wanted one more chance after throwing an interception with 2:59 remaining and the Raiders trailing the Browns by a point at FirstEnergy Stadium on Monday night.
He took full advantage when his wish was granted, leading a drive that culminated in a 48-yard Daniel Carlson field goal and a 16-14 win that salvaged the team’s postseason hopes, snapping a stretch of five losses in six games and leaving both teams with 7-7 records.
“After that interception, it was like, ‘I promise we’ll win the game. Just get it back,’” Carr said.
It was a simple-sounding task after a wild 72 hours that saw kickoff pushed back two days and the Browns field a team missing 18 regular players, including eight starters plus a punter and their head coach, to the reserve/COVID-19 list, plus another to injury.
Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia said he understands the frustration his players expressed with the situation on social media, but applauded the way they were able to take care of the task at hand once the game began.
“They have the right to speak their mind,” he said. “I thought they did a really good job of coming back to work and resetting to some degree. Credit to our defense. We weren’t sure what quarterback we’d be playing, so we tried to prepare for all of them.”
It was a drive orchestrated by Carr and then a swing of Carlson’s leg that provided the final blow.
The opportunity was afforded to them by a defense that forced a three-and-out by the Browns after Carr’s deep shot to Zay Jones was intercepted.
On a third-and-3, Johnathan Hankins blew up the line of scrimmage and stopped Cleveland star running back Nick Chubb for no gain.
“We expected them to run there,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “They did a good job in the second half, Nick Chubb was running that thing hard, but it doesn’t surprise me. Hank is one of the best run-stoppers in the league. He always comes up in big moments.”
Bisaccia said he was going to attempt a field goal anywhere from the 40-yard line and in. Carr said in his mind the 35 was the target to give Carlson the best opportunity to make the kick in a light, but swirling wind on the banks of Lake Erie. Carr went 5-for-6 on the drive, overcoming a dropped pass by Josh Jacobs and a holding call on Kolton Miller, before spiking the ball at the 30 and walking to the sideline to let Carlson do his thing.
Crosby was nervously tossing blades of grass in the air to try to gauge the wind. Carr just focused on Carlson because his immediate reaction always gives away the result.
Carlson ignored the rollicking crowd that had been brought to life by the late heroics of third-string quarterback Nick Mullens and did their best to rattle the kicker. Acting Browns coach Mike Priefer called timeout to try to ice him.
“It was fun to be able to do my job and get the win for us,” Carlson said. “It kind of all goes dead when you get in the zone like that. It just turns into background noise.”
The start of the game was just as good as the end for the Raiders. After a defensive stop, Carr went 8-for-8 on the opening drive for 77 yards and capped it with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Edwards.
Cleveland was forced to punt on its first four possessions for the first time since 2018 and trailed 10-0 at halftime, but Chubb put the Browns on the board with a 5-yard run in the third quarter. After Carlson’s second field goal of the game, Mullens scrambled around and hit a wide open Harrison Bryant in the end zone on a fourth-down play with 3:54 in the game to give the Browns their only lead of the game.
Carr was intercepted three plays later, briefly putting the crowd in celebration mode.
Jones then caught two passes from Carr on the game-winning drive, including a 15-yard reception to put the ball at the 30 and set up the field goal.
They just needed one more chance.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
