Graney: Raiders finish season by winning on and off the field

There was a win on the scoreboard and one off it and be sure of this: The latter was far more important for the future of the Raiders.

Call this one a 14-12 victory against the Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, courtesy of a 60-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with eight seconds remaining.

What ended as a miserable 3-14 record at least offered a slim amount of light as the offseason commenced.

But what happened before kickoff was the team’s greatest win.

That’s when the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys.

That’s when the Raiders were guaranteed the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL draft.

That’s when it became reality: A franchise quarterback could be on the table now. The first step — well, other than perhaps choosing a new coach depending on where things fall with Pete Carroll — in what needs to be a major rebuild.

Carlson knows well the roller coaster these last several years have been. Having just completed his eighth season with the Raiders, the placekicker still prefers to promote the highs over the lows.

Even during such a dire season as the one that just concluded.

Lots of change

“It’s better we were hard at work and doing the right things,” Carlson said. “It’s tough because the results weren’t coming. That’s life. But it’s a testament to the character of our coaches and team that we avoided the drama and got to work.”

There will be change with the Raiders.

There needs to be a lot of it.

But the one area they should keep in the fold is the kicking game. And that means signing Carlson to a new deal.

This is the first time he’s a free agent in the way of exploring other opportunities. And if a concern of the Raiders earlier this season was about his leg strength, Carlson certainly answered it with his game-winner Sunday.

It was from 60 with room to spare.

“I’m extremely thankful for my time as a Raider,” Carlson said. “It would be a blessing to (return). It would be great to be here. It has been the joy of my life. It has been a wild journey. I’ve met so many great people.”

You could almost hear the sigh of relief coming from a locker room that knew little success this season. In what was hardly a classic matchup given the names that were missing, the Raiders were able to find a way to beat the Chiefs.

That meant something to those involved.

It certainly did to Carroll, whose future appears cloudier than some recent weather patterns around here. His one year just wasn’t good enough. The Raiders never did improve as Carroll hoped for all season.

He said Sunday that this is the hardest he has ever coached. I believe him. When you lose this much, you’re constantly searching for answers.

Nothing comes easy. You’re preaching to trust the process, which doesn’t seem to be working on a daily basis.

That was the Raiders this season. A team that worked hard for its coach but wasn’t capable enough to take from the practice field any success into games each week.

Worse fates

“A win was great for a lot of reasons,” quarterback Aidan O’Connell said. “For guys and what they have been through this year. We’re a results-based business and when you don’t get the results, it’s hard. There’s pressure on you.

“I thought Pete did a good job of echoing (the process) all year long. To play and practice hard. The wins didn’t come but it’s good to end with one.”

And now, the future.

There are worse fates, especially if you’re going to suffer through 3-14, than selecting first in the draft. There are worse things than having your pick of the best quarterbacks available when you desperately need an upgrade at the position.

This latest chapter has mercifully ended. There are countless questions to be answered. But for one day, a kick was good from 60 yards and a team that had little reason to celebrate this season was able to finally smile.

And that wasn’t even its biggest win of the day.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.