OAKLAND, Calif. _ Derek Carr is paid like an elite franchise quarterback. He had a chance to finally validate his salary in 2017, if only for one game, with one final drive.
Less than three minutes on the clock, ball on the Raiders' 15-yard line, Carr under center with one timeout, Chiefs up six.
Oh yeah, maybe even Oakland's season on the line.
This was as much of a "must-win" for the Raiders as a Week 7 game can be.
There were fights on the field, fights on the sideline, plays unlike anything we've seen at the Coliseum this year. But when all subsided and the wonkiness of Thursday Night Football had taken it's course, the scoreboard had more points next to the Raiders logo than their opponent's for the first time in five games.
Raiders 31, Chiefs 30.
With a masterful final drive by Carr, and a game-winning extra point by Giorgio Tavecchio with no time on the clock, the Raiders orchestrated a comeback win that may just have kept their playoff hopes afloat.
The drive consisted of a 39-yard completion from Carr to Amari Cooper kept the drive alive into Chiefs' territory. Then a 13-yard pass to Jared Cook on 4th-and-11 revived the Raiders once more. Then a touchdown-called-back to Cook that left the ball at the 1. Then a cluster of yellow flags and incompletions and one final completion to Michael Crabtree, and one final extra point by Tavecchio.
Somehow, the Raiders escaped with a win.
Forget Cooper's two first-half touchdowns and Tavecchio's two missed field goals, his first two misses of the year. Marshawn Lynch got tossed and CBS' Tracy Wolfson said offensive line coach Mike Tice broke up a fight between Michael Crabtree and Donald Penn on the sideline. If anything, the Thursday Night Football brand got a huge boost, actual plays aside.
But since Cooper has been dormant almost all season, maybe it's fair to highlight his 113 first-half receiving yards and two first-quarter touchdowns. In Weeks 2-6, Cooper reeled in 84 combined yards with no touchdowns. He scored on the Raiders' first drive of the year and took a five-week break before re-introducing himself to the 2017 season in grand fashion Thursday night. One touchdown went for 38 yards down the left sideline, the other on a crossing route and subsequent burst of speed down the right sideline 45 yards.
Though, the Chiefs would answer. Alex Smith was the new-and-improved Alex Smith. Tyreek Hill was the new Usain Bolt. Kareem Hunt hardly looked like a rookie third-rounder who only started Week 1 because the actual starter got injured in preseason.
If it wasn't for Tavecchio's two misses _ one kick blocked and the other wide left _ the AFC West's best and worst teams would be tied at half. Instead, the visitors led, 20-14, with the Raiders receiving the ball after the break.
If the latest edition of Thursday Night Football hadn't been wild enough, Smith's bomb intended for Albert Wilson landed in the hands of Oakland safety Keith McGill _ until it bounced out and fell to Wilson for a 63-yard touchdown. Chiefs back up six. Then Harrison Butker tacked on a field goal to put the visitors up nine heading into the final quarter. Tavecchio responded with his own chip shot _ his first make of three tries on the night � to make it a one-score affair again.
Now it was up to the same Raiders' defense that allowed the Chargers to march down the field for a win last Sunday to come up with a stop.
With a third-down sack split by Khalil Mack and Denico Autry, Oakland got its chance and didn't blow it.
