Oakland Raiders Lose Final Game

by Tom LaMarre

The final game for the Oakland Raiders was one to forget most of the way, and then nearly one to remember in the end.

The Raiders got in their own way for nearly 60 minutes, but scored a touchdown with seven seconds left, only to have defensive tackle Shelby Harris bat down Derek Carr’s two-point conversion pass and the Denver Broncos escaped with a 16-15 victory on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.

“I’m not going to make excuses, but that’s a game we could have won,” said Coach

Jon Gruden, whose team lost five of its last six games to finish 7-9 after going 4-12 last season in the first year of his second stint with the Silver and Black.

“We thought we had a play called to win the game right there, but doggone, Shelby Harris batted it down. … But we battled and made some big plays. You have to give our guys credit for hanging in and giving us a chance to win at the end.

I’m still numb for losing that game.”

Oakland still had a longshot chance to make the playoffs coming into the game, but that was taken care of when the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans to claim the final AFC wild card spot.

The Oakland Raiders still had had a chance to go out as winners and could have taken control with three promising drives in the first half, but all they had to show for the first two quarters was a 23-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson on their first possession.

Carlson also missed a 39-yard field goal attempt after Carr overthew wide receiver Hunter Renfrow left corner of the end zone and the Raiders twice thought they scored a touchdown that would have given them a 10-3 lead in the second quarter.

Carr hit Renfrow with what was first ruled a five-yard touchdown pass, but it was overturned by replay and the ball placed inside the one. Fullback Alec Engold was stopped short on fourth down, although the Raiders thought the ball broke the plane of the goal line.

“I thought both were touchdowns,” Gruden said.

The Raiders were on the move again late in the half when Carr hit wide receiver Marcell Ateman on a 20-yard pass to the Denver 47, but Broncos safety Trey Marshall pried the ball loose from Ateman, recovered the fumble and ran 12 yards to the Oakland 41.

Five plays later, rookie quarterback Drew Lock hit tight end Andrew Beck with a one-yard touchdown pass to give the Broncos a 10-3 lead with 43 seconds left in the half and the Raiders were playing catch-up the rest of the way.

Carr did his best to get them there, completing 29-of-46 passes for 391 yards without an interception, despite sustaining an ankle injury that required a tape job after he was sacked in the second half.

“They have a tough defense and we fought, but obviously we could have finished better in the Red Zone,” said Carr, who was under pressure from Von Miller and his pals for most of the game, but still almost pulled off the 20th fourth quarter comeback victory of his career.

“When we have a chance to win in the fourth quarter, I always believe we’re going to do it. On the last play, Hunter ran a perfect route and was wide open. I don’t look at the D-line, but give Shelby credit.

“I thought we had this win. It breaks your heart.”

Tight end Darren Waller again was his favorite receiver with six receptions for 107 yards, while Renfrow also had six receptions for 102 yards, although both also had a could of uncharacteristic drops.

“It came down to one play and it just didn’t go our way,” said Waller, who blossomed into a star this season. “We just fell short. We couldn’t complain about the refs or the way things were joining, we had to just keep playing.

“We tried out best and tried to capitalize on that last chance, but it just didn’t happen.”

It was Renfro who caught the three-yard touchdown pass from Carr with seven seconds left that was the Raiders’ last gasp, and he appeared to be open for the two-point conversion pass when Harris knocked it down.

And so, what started with the Raiders’ 37-22 loss to the Houston Oilers at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on Sept. 11, 1960, is over for the second and likely the final time.

Owner Al Davis took the Raiders to Los Angeles in 1982 and brought them back to Oakland in 1995, but now his son, Mark, is moving the team to a new, state-of-the-art stadium in Las Vegas and even the most optimistic fan in the Eastbay area knows it’s over.

“Oakland is a special place and we love those fans, but I’m here for the Raiders,” Gruden said. “I think we have shown the heart of a champion and we’re getting better and better.

We have some high draft choices, will sign some more free agents and will continue getting better. I truly believe that.”

That will happen as the Las Vegas Raiders.