OAKLAND, Calif. — As Derek Carr fell to the turf with a broken leg, a celebratory day in Oakland immediately turned somber.
The Raiders had suffered their most significant loss of the season.
Carr broke a bone in his right leg in the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ 33-25 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, immediately throwing a dark cloud over a resurgent season in Oakland.
“Seeing him go down like that, it hurt us,” linebacker Bruce Irvin said. “It didn’t even feel like we won.”
Carr got hurt with Oakland leading 33-14 early in the fourth quarter when he was sacked by Trent Cole. Carr stayed on the ground for several minutes in pain as trainers came out to treat him.
With the crowd chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!” Carr limped off the field without putting any pressure on his right leg. He was then taken away on a cart for X-rays which showed the break. Carr will have surgery on Sunday.
“As soon as I got out there, he said, ’I think it’s broken,’” coach Jack Del Rio said.
The injury changed the mood at the Coliseum as thoughts turned from the Raiders (12-3) possibly clinching the division with one more win or a Kansas City loss to wondering if an opportunity for a possible Super Bowl run was now lost.
“It’s very sad,” left tackle Donald Penn said. “I’m very disappointed in myself because it was my guy that got him. I’ve been great all year. I was engaged with my guy, I took another step and my foot just slipped from up under me. I wish I could have that play back.”
Carr had led a revival in Oakland since arriving as a second-round pick in 2014. After losing his first 10 games as a rookie, Carr has been a big part of the turnaround that has the Raiders in the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
He threw three TD passes on Sunday to give him 28 on the season and his seven fourth-quarter comebacks are the biggest reason behind Oakland’s success.
Now the team must prepare for a playoff run with Matt McGloin at quarterback. McGloin has not started a game since the end of the 2013 season with Carr starting all 47 games since he arrived.
“Our MVP of the team, MVP of the league is hurt right now,” Penn said. “It’s going to be a big spot to fill. We have to do it. Next man up. It’s not going to stop us. We have to find a way to keep this thing going because it’s going good and we’re not going to stop it from going good.”
Carr’s injury made it a down day all the way around. Andrew Luck threw two interceptions, Frank Gore lost a fumble and Indianapolis (7-8) allowed TDs on five straight drives to be eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight year.
“I feel like I failed my teammates,” Luck said. “There’s a lot of disappointed guys in that locker room. We did have opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Luck rallied the Colts from 26 points down to just eight with 2:33 left, but McGloin completed a 19-yard pass to Amari Cooper on third-and-8 on the next drive and the Raiders ran out the clock.
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