The Black Mamba strikes again....
Derek Carr returned from a jammed finger with the help of a black glove to lead the Raiders to a 35-32 win over the Carolina Panthers.
By Rich Winter
Years from now when people are looking back on HOF QB, Derek Carr's career, they're going to show the day he F'd up his finger, put on the black glove and led the Raiders to an improbable, come-from-behind win over Cam Newton's Carolina Panthers.
Mark it down: Nov. 27, 2016, the day the Mamba 11 emerged.
Ya can't write a script any better than this: Raiders off to a big lead, just pummeling the Carolina Panthers and leading 24-7 heading into the locker-room. Bang, right out of the gate, third quarter, Carr takes a snap to the pinkie finger which looks horribly gruesome, and the Raiders franchise trotted off the field as a dis-heartened Raider Nation quieted to a low murmer. The Panthers recover Carr's fumble, score, score again and then score again to take a 25-24 lead.
And then Carr comes out of the locker-room, throws a pick, from which Carolina scores to take an 8-point lead. Undaunted, Carr comes back, leads the Raiders on a clutch drive with several 3rd-and-long completions, finds Clive Walford for a score then hits Seth Roberts for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 32-32.
The Raiders get the ball back, Carr hits Michael Crabtree with a clutch bomb to get the Raiders into field goal position and a long time-consuming drive ends with a Sebastian Janikowski field goal that sealed the deal.
This 4th-quarter comeback stuff is starting to become the stuff of legends.
* Five times this season, Derek Carr has led his team back from a 4th-quarter deficit.
* Since 2015, Carr has 13 come-from-behind winds, the next most in the NFL over that time span, SEVEN!
Carr is clutch beyond clutch, and you can go ahead and add tougher-than-hell to his resume.
Saw a post-game interview with Khalil Mack and the reporter asked Mack if he was worried about Carr when the QB went to the locker-room. "A little at first," Mack said. And then he referenced something about having faith in the Black Mamba...
And a legend was born!
