AP photo: The Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton misses getting another feather in his cap as the Oakland Raiders get three point win over the Panthers on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum
By Jeremy Kahn
OAKLAND-What looked like was going to be a cakewalk victory for the Oakland Raiders turned into a downright thriller in the end.
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a game-winning 23-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining in the game, as the Raiders made a great comeback to defeat the Carolina Panthers 35-32 at the Oakland Coliseum.
Derek Carr went 26-for-38 for 315 yards with two touchdowns thrown and also threw an interception.
Carr was also forced to leave the game in the third quarter, as he injured the pinkie on his throwing hand.
He was replaced by Matt McGloin for one series, but then came back onto the field after getting the pinky looked at by the doctors and trainers.
“A lot of pain. I’ll let our doctors and coach get into all that stuff. I was able to come back in and play. Something happened with the snap. To be completely honest, I don’t know. I haven’t seen a replay of it. Something was different than normal,” said Carr. “Rodney (Hudson) and I, we put a lot of hard work into the center-quarterback exchange, so that nothing ever happens. I’ll have to see a replay, but something was different, Something was definitely different,” Carr added.
This was the Raiders fifth straight win, improving to 9-2 on the season and thus assuring themselves of their first winning season since the 2002 season, when they made it all the way to the Super Bowl under Bill Callahan.
The game-winning field goal by Janikowski, his 200th career field goal at the Coliseum, was setup by a 49-yard throw by Carr to Michael Crabtree on third-and-9 from the Raiders 14-yard line.
Following the Janikowski field goal, the Panthers led by reigning league MVP Cam Newton began to drive down the field for a possibly game-tying field goal or a even a possible game-winning touchdown. Greg Olson was unable to hold onto the Newton pass on third down, and then Khalil Mack stripped Newton of the ball on fourth down, thus clinching the win for the Raiders.
Carr got the Raiders on the board in the first quarter, as he found Seth Roberts for a two-yard touchdown pass.
“The reason I talk about them as a group is because they do so many things selflessly. Like a key block. Last week when Coop (Amari Cooper) takes off on that touchdown, that’s Seth there making that key block there. When you see Latavius (Murray) pop on one of those runs, you might see Seth in there making the key blocks,” said Del Rio. It goes beyond having stats on the stat sheet and receptions and yards and touchdowns. Certainly that two-point play was about as big of a play as we had in the game and Seth came huge for us there,” Del Rio added.
On the Panthers ensuing series, Newton tied up the game with his feet, as he scored from three yards out.
After the Panthers tied up the game, the Raiders reeled off 17 unanswered points to go into the locker room at the half with a 24-7 lead.
Latavius Murray gave the Raiders the lead on a four-yard run, then Janikowski extended the lead up to 17-7, as he kicked a 23-yard field goal.
It looked like the Raiders were going to go into halftime with a 10-point, but Newton threw an interception that Mack returned six yards for a touchdown.
“Absolutely. Yeah, he’s got good hand. He can throw it, too. He can do just about anything that he wants, really,” said Del Rio about Mack.
After taking the 24-7 lead, and with Carr in the locker room getting his finger looked at by the medical staff, the Panthers, who recovered the fumble when Carr injured himself took quick advantage.
Jonathan Stewart scored from one yard out to cut the Raiders lead down to 24-13, and on the ensuing extra point, Denico Autry blocked Graham Gano’s extra point attempt.
On their next possession, the Panthers cut the Raiders lead down to five points, as Newton found former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., over the middle and the former track star split the Raiders defense all the way to the end zone for an 88-yard touchdown reception.
The Raiders were able to keep their five-point lead, as the two-point conversion from Newton to Corey Brown fell incomplete.
Thomas Davis came up with his second turnover of the afternoon on the Raiders next series, as he intercepted a Carr pass that was intended for Cooper and returned it 31 yards to the Raiders 28-yard line.
Just four plays later, the Panthers came all the way to take their first lead of the game, as Stewart scored his second touchdown of the afternoon; however once again the Raiders stopped the Panthers on the two-point conversion, as Newton’s throw to Olsen was incomplete.
After the Raiders went three-and-out, Newton threw his second touchdown pass of the afternoon, as he found Kelvin Benjamin for a 44-yard touchdown catch that saw Benjamin leaped over Sean Smith to make a fantastic catch to give the Panthers a 32-24 lead.
On the Raiders next possession, Carr found Clive Walford for a 12-yard touchdown pass and then Carr found Walford for the huge two-point conversion to tie up the game.
The Panthers were unable to get into scoring range, and were forced to give the Raiders the ball back, which culminated with the Janikowski 23-yard field goal to give the Raiders the victory.
Crabtree led all Raiders receivers with eight catches for 110 yards, while Murray was the lead ground gainer with 19 carries for 45 yards.
