Raiders’ Derek Carr to teammates in final seconds: ‘Go make a play’

OAKLAND, Calif. — Even now, there is a breathlessness to it all.

A fourth-and-11 conversion and a ruled 29-yard touchdown — both by tight end Jared Cook, who made NFL history in the process. A ball-spot review that changed his score to a 28-yard gain. An offensive pass interference that negated a 1-yard touchdown on the next play. An end-zone drop. Two end-zone defensive holding penalties that extended the game on consecutive snaps.

Four throws in the final seven seconds of regulation. Two with no time remaining.

And finally, a touchdown pass secured by a wide receiver with four-XL gloves, setting up an extra point to seal the victory.

The Raiders very well might have saved their season Thursday evening in a dramatic 31-30 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The final drive, ready-made for a classic reel, required every second of regulation and then some. While the series featured a complex series of high-and-low swings for either side, executing the drive itself was fairly simple down the stretch.

Nothing was too elaborate, quarterback Derek Carr said.

“Yeah, I was just trying to find a one-on-one (matchup),” said Carr, who threw for 96 of his 417 yards in the decisive 11-play sequence. “At that moment, you just have to find a one-on-one with the coverages that they’re playing and give somebody a chance. There’s nothing technical about it. At that point, I’m telling the guys in the huddle, ‘Look, I’ve got to give somebody a chance now. Go make a play.’ They did a couple of times.”

Wide receiver Amari Cooper was heavily involved early in the sequence, which spanned 85 yards and consumed 2 minutes, 25 seconds. He caught two passes for 54 yards.

Cook then played a starring role.

He became the first tight end in NFL history to record a 100-yard game with four franchises, having done so for the Tennessee Titans, St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers and now the Raiders. He caught a 13-yard pass over the middle on fourth-and-11 with 41 seconds remaining. Two incompletions later, he caught the 28-yarder, bringing his total to six receptions for 107 yards.

“Derek just told me to go line out wide, and he put the ball in there,” Cook said of the long reception. “I thought he was going to throw it to (wide receiver) Seth (Roberts) inside, but he put the ball in there, high and outside, and I was able to go and make a play. He put it where nobody else could get it but me. I’m proud of him. He pulled his heart out of his chest for us, and he made it possible for us to keep drives alive.”

Carr called Cook “huge, huge, huge” on the final drive.

He called back to Cook’s March free-agency visit.

“We sat there, and this was tape that we pulled up,” Carr said. “We said, ‘Look, man, we need you. We need you. We need your help against the Chiefs. We need another weapon. We need you, and here’s how we can use you.’ We actually used that (Thursday), which is kind of cool. To tell a man, ‘Hey, this is the kind of things we need you to do, and if you can do them, man, it’s going to help our team win. … For him to do those things even when he didn’t get the ball, it helped our team win.”

Cook scored with 18 seconds remaining.

When the touchdown was overturned, a 10-second runoff was enforced on the game clock. The Raiders snapped the ensuing play with seven seconds left. Carr found Michael Crabtree on a fade route, but much to coach Jack Del Rio’s chagrin, the officiating crew ruled that the Raiders wide receiver pushed off a Chiefs defensive back.

Two plays. Two touchdowns taken away.

Carr tried Cook again on a high throw. Cook was unable to secure the catch, but before his drop on albeit a difficult ball, he drew a defensive holding call. With no time remaining and from 5 yards out, Carr tried wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson. He caught the pass out of bounds, but a defensive holding extended the game again.

One final, final, final chance.

Carr rolled left and fired a fast ball to Crabtree, who secured a 2-yard score before falling out of bounds near the end zone’s front-left pylon.

“That’s what this team is capable of,” Cook said. “It’s all about resiliency. It’s all about keep fighting. It’s all about going to the next play and keep moving. That’s what this game is about. No matter what happens in a game, you always got a chance to pull yourself out of a funk.”