Is there a way to measure how clutch a player is? There might be. And no, I am not talking about being voted for Clutch Player of the Week awards. Derek Carr has ‘won’ four of those this season. No, I’m talking about a stat that can actually give an indication of a player’s ability to put the team on his back and lead them back from a deficit to a victory.
On Sunday, the Raiders found themselves with a 15-point deficit with six minutes left in the third quarter. They were still behind heading into the fourth quarter, but less than a minute into the final quarter, Carr threw a perfect pass to Amari Cooper for a 37-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 30-24 lead which they wouldn’t relinquish.
In so doing, Carr made NFL history. He became the first ever NFL quarterback with five game-winning touchdown passes in the fourth quarter or overtime in a season. He also set a franchise record with his sixth fourth-quarter comeback/game-winning drive this season.
Carr’s next completion was his 19th and final completion of the game. It gave him exactly 300 completions in his first three seasons, becoming the fourth player in NFL history to do that, joining Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning.
Other superlatives
- The win marks the first time the Raiders have started 10-2 since 2000, when they posted a 12-4 record and advanced to the AFC Championship game.
- This is Oakland’s first 10-win season since 2002, when the Silver and Black advanced to Super Bowl XXVII with a record of 11-5.
- Amari Cooper’s first catch went for 22 yards to set up a field goal at the end of the first half. With that catch, he eclipsed 2,000 receiving yards for his career.
- Cooper’s 37-yard touchdown was his fourth of 30-yards-or-more which is tied for most in the NFL.
- RB Latavius Murray ties for fifth all-time in Raiders history with 11 single-season rushing touchdowns, most since Marcus Allens’ 12 in 1990. It ties Murray for the third most rushing TD’s in the league and fifth most total TD’s.
- Tyrod Taylor finished with a passer rating of 55.8. Raiders’ defense has not allowed an opposing passer to surpass 100.0 rating during their six-game winning streak.
- In just his second NFL game, James Cowser recorded his first career sack, bringing down Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter for a 10-yard loss.
- Midway through the first quarter with Buffalo at Oakland’s 3-yard line, Bruce Irvin took down Tyrod Taylor for a 6-yard sack, forcing the Bills to settle for three points. It was Irvin’s third straight game with a sack and his fifth of the season.
- Khalil Mack’s had his second consecutive game-sealing strip sack, and making his seventh consecutive game with a sack.
- Sebastian Janikowski had the Raiders only points in the first half on three field goals (47, 41, 47) and finished with 12 points adding three extra points.
- Marquette King pinned the Bills at their own 4-yard-line on a 55-yard punt midway through the fourth quarter. He has not pinned opponents inside the 10-yard line an NFL-leading 14 times.
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