Raiders Win at the Jets can Lift them to the Playoffs
Henderson, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders were 35 seconds away from defeat -- a humiliating defeat to a winless team that would have all but doused the Raiders’ playoff hopes.
Thirty-five seconds.
A New York punt stuck the Raiders at their own 39 with those 35 seconds remaining. A field goal wouldn’t be enough. The Raiders needed to march 61 yards for a touchdown … or the plane ride back to Las Vegas would last a lifetime.
You don’t take playoff hopes into a Sunday afternoon and then lose to a 0-11 team.
But in those 35 seconds, the Raiders learned how to win. Quarterback Derek Carr needed only two plays, two passes, to cover those 61 yards, highlighted by an electric 46-yard touchdown pass to rookie Henry Ruggs III with just a few ticks left on the clock.
As low as Raiders fans were before that final drive, they rose to meteoric levels with a win, and more importantly, how they won.
Hall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo once told me: "The most difficult thing in the world that fans don't understand is learning how to win. I don't care how good a kid is in high school when he gets here (Michigan State) he has to learn all over how to win and the same is true in the NBA."
If Izzo is correct, and his resume would add to his credibility, you saw the Raiders team grow up. It was a young player in Ruggs who had made multiple mistakes but hauled in Carr's pass for the win.
"It's critical that we can go on the road after a tough loss, a humiliating loss, and come from behind in a dramatic way to win and in weather that is a little different than we're used to," Gruden told me.
I asked him about Izzo's thoughts and if this one win was part of that athletic algorithm.
"It's a huge learning experience,” Gruden said, “and it's fun to learn some positive things once in a while with all the things that have been going on."
Let's not pretend that the New York Jets are a good team. They are horrible. The Raiders aren't, but the young players have to learn to prepare for each team the same way.
That is what Izzo meant about learning to win, and Sunday made this franchise better.
"Our young guys, they have to learn on the fly,” Carr said. “They're going to have to play above being rookies and things like that. Obviously, they did that today for us.”
Asked about the Izzo comment, Carr replied: “For us, to be a championship-type organization, be in the playoffs every year, and a team that's picked to be there every year, we have to learn to win in these close games."
So the time is now for the Raiders to finish. This game shot confidence through the franchise. But make no mistake, this team must have a playoffs or bust mentality.
Sunday helps, but looking at the schedule, there are no more New York Jets.
This team went into Kansas City and beat the world champions and escaped New York against the world chumps.
In a league with no moral victories, the Raiders must finish their last four games playing as they did in Kansas City. If they do, and we know they can, they will play in the post-season. Sunday's game will be a defining point in the season.
If they play like they did lasr Sunday, they will be at home this post-season, and the Jets game will lose the value of a learning experience. The last four games of this season will tell us if the young Raiders are growing up.
I think they have, but what I think doesn't matter. As Al Davis would say, “Just win, baby!”
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