CINCINNATI _ A tumultuous week for the Raiders ended in form, a 30-16 loss to the mediocre Bengals capping off a seven-day stretch that started with Reggie McKenzie losing his job as general manager.
In between came a lawsuit filed by the City of Oakland against the Raiders for their impending move to Vegas, the organization's withdrawal of a proposed lease agreement for the Oakland Coliseum next season, Amari Cooper saying Jon Gruden didn't want to trade him and the NFL suspending Martavis Bryant indefinitely for violating the league's substance-abuse policy again.
Somehow the Raiders (3-11) stood a chance to reverse this week's fortunes against the Bengals (6-8) and cringe-worthy passer Jeff Driskel, down only seven in the fourth quarter, but instead the first overall pick remained within reach for Gruden and Co. on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Bengals entered Sunday as the only team allowing more points per game than the Raiders, only their 30.5 mark topping the Raiders' 29.8 points surrendered per game average.
Carr and the Raiders labored most of the afternoon, their efforts to crack a defense that most teams can as pathetic as the less-than-half-full stadium. Carr completed only 21-of-38 passes despite not throwing an interception, and the Raiders ran for just 68 yards against an NFL-worst run defense that allowed 148.1 yards per game on the ground in the first 14 weeks.
The Bengals ranked 26th in the league with only 28 sacks entering Sunday, but there's no better cure for a struggling pass-rush unit than a banged-up Raiders offensive line. Carr weathered five sacks, bringing his season total to 47, the third-most sacks taken of any quarterback in the league this season. Rookie left tackle Kolton Miller struggled the most, but starting Chaz Green, Denzelle Good and Brandon Parker won't do your offense any favors, either.
Carr's clean streak should've ended at 262 passes when he threw his second pass of the game thrown right at Bengals safety Shawn Williams. But Williams somehow dropped the ball, and Carr now owns the longest active interception-less streak in the NFL.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had the longest active streak until his 403rd pass was intercepted on Sunday against the Bears. After Sunday's loss, Carr's streak now sits at 299 passes.
Against the Bengals he passed the previous franchise record set by Rich Gannon in 2001 (277) for most consecutive passes without an interception.
