Holding hope that Raiders QB Derek Carr could come back

In a flash, eerily similar to the second play of the third quarter against Carolina, the world stopped spinning inside the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum and dumped the AFC playoff picture on its head.

The Oakland Raiders secured their twelfth victory of the season against the Indianapolis Colts, but it came at an unimaginable price. Up 19 points with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter disaster struck. Circling in the pocket avoiding the rush Derek Carr was spun around, sacked and didn’t get up. Instead immediately motioning for the trainer, the entire hopes of Raider Nation sunk as a close-up revealed Carr clearly stating “It’s Broken.”

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An offensive explosion helped the Raiders win the game against the Colts, but it still can’t ease the massive blow of losing MVP candidate Carr indefinitely. Attempting to silence rumors and critics alike Oakland’s first snap featured Carr under center, although he would return to the shotgun and the pistol formation primarily throughout the contest. The Raiders were dominating, Carr was magnificent posting a qb rating (122.6) the second highest of the season, at one point guiding his team to five touchdowns on five offensive possessions.

The Shotgun and Pistol formations are sets where the quarterback is between four-to-seven yards off the line of scrimmage and the center, the Raiders offensive formula incorporating these as base formations with designations to help Carr baby his injured pinky. In a cruel twist of irony the Raiders pocket protection which has been the safest place on the world for Carr may be the place “his” season ends. After initially being one of the masses ready to pronounce the Raiders D.O.A. having watched Carr go down, I employed step one of Jack Del Rio’s “process.”

Step-1: The 24 hour rule, You have 24 hours to enjoy the victory or dwell on the loss and it’s time to move on.

The Oakland Raiders are still in the driver’s seat for the No.2 seed in the AFC West, and still in play for homefield advantage through the playoffs: however, a loss against the Broncos and a Chiefs win drops Oakland to the No. 5 seed setting up a rematch against the Houston Texans.

With upcoming opponent Denver being eliminated from playoff contention and being on the brink of civil war in the locker room, they present the perfect opponent for the Raiders to wrap up the division against.

Here’s where it starts to get dicey, with six weeks to go to the Super Bowl there may be a way to get Carr back on the field for the Super Bowl should McGloin and the Raiders be able to make it. According to well known Dr. Robert Klapper, with a successful surgery to repair the fibula on Tuesday, Carr’s season may not be over just yet.

Whether Carr wins the regular season MVP or not, at this point it really does not matter for the Raiders, his injury has sent shockwaves throughout the entire league. The entire football world expects the Raiders to have seen the last victory of 2016, and to be one-and-done in the playoffs. As a believer myself, I have seen the unexplainable and seen players return from the similar injuries in three-to-four weeks (Charles Woodson, Terrell Owens). What is absolutely critical to remember is if the surgery is successful on Tuesday, Carr’s broken right fibula will have been fixed. With the use of various agents of modern medicine there may be a chance that Oakland’s prized young QB could rise from the ashes reborn like a phoenix, and wouldn’t that be ironic.

You can follow Philip Robinson on twitter @chocP3thunder

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