National Football League

Three and Out: Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:40 p.m. ET

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Three and Out is a weekly series that will examine three areas where the Oakland Raiders played well, and three areas where they didn’t. This is the Week 12 edition.

Once again, the Oakland Raiders found themselves with their backs against the wall, trailing in the 4th quarter. And once again, Derek Carr engineered a drive to lead the Raiders to yet another come-from-behind victory.

That’s right. Our Oakland Raiders are 9-2, and have officially clinched their first winning season since 2002.

As always, there are areas where the team played well, and areas where they didn’t. Let’s start with the positives. Here and three things the Raiders did well on Sunday.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is pressured by Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack (52) during a NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Khalil Mack

What else is there to say about Khalil Mack?

After a “slow start” to the season — he didn’t record a sack in the first three games — Mack has been completely dominant every week. He now has a sack in six consecutive games (8 total over that span) and has 9 sacks total on the year.

Khalil has also forced a fumble in three of his last four games, including a strip-sack to seal the win against the Panthers. Not to mention he’s been a force against the run.

Oh, and against Carolina, Mack also had a Pick-6 in the 2nd quarter that gave the Raiders a 24-7 lead. He was the best player on either team, on either side of the ball.

Khalil Mack had an INT, sack, FF, FR and TD. He's the 1st player since Charles Woodson in 2009 to do all 5 of those things in same game. pic.twitter.com/XI8DS22Bqb

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 28, 2016

What a stat. The torch has been passed from one legend, to a legend in the making.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski (11) kicks a 23-yard field goal out of the hold of Marquette King (7) with 1:45 to play against the Carolina Panthers during a NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Panthers 45-42. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Overcoming Adversity

As they’ve done all season long, somehow, someway, the Raiders found a way to win.

Use whatever analysis or advanced stats that you want to use to try to explain what is happening with the 2016 Raiders, but truth be told, the only thing you need to know is that good teams find a way to win. And that’s exactly where we are with the Raiders — a good team that simply finds a way to get it done.

For the Raiders, “getting it done” starts and ends with Derek Carr. With a dislocated pinky and a glove on his throwing hand, Carr engineered his ninth game-winning drive since the beginning of the 2015 season, and his fifth of 2016.

With a 24-7 lead, this game shouldn’t have had any adversity. But football is a fickle sport, where momentum can change and a game can flip upside down in a moments notice. And that’s what happened in this game.

Over the course of a single quarter, the Raiders gave up 18 unanswered points. They lost a comfortable lead, had their franchise QB ailing, the defense gave up multiple big plays, the air was sucked out of the stadium — but none of that mattered. Oakland responded with 11 unanswered points of their own to once again seize the lead, and they never looked back.

It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty, and it’s never easy. It’s frustrating and it’s stressful, but at the end of the day, a win makes all of it worth it.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) catches a pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Daryl Worley (26) during the second half at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Crabtree

Michael Crabtree aka Mr. Gold Chain aka King Crab, or whatever you want to call him — #15 showed up on Sunday.

Crabtree bounced back from a terrible game in Mexico City — 3 catches for 5 yards — to log 8 receptions for 110 yards in the win, with several crucial catches down the stretch. Including this beauty.

Crabtree's sideline catch pic.twitter.com/wOgaqoy4wQ

— GipsySafety (@GipsySafety) November 28, 2016

Crabtree also hauled in a 49-yard bomb from Derek Carr on Oakland’s final drive of the game. He drew a pass interference on that play, lost his helmet, and walked towards the sideline with a brash strut, knowing the Raiders were about to put the game on ice.

And that’s exactly what happened. A few plays later, Janikowski kicked what would prove to be the game-winning field goal.

There might only be one or two players on this team that play with as much emotion, with as much passion, as Crabtree does. He embodies everything there is about being a Raider, and all these years later, it’s wild that it’s even possible to say that.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn (19) runs the ball in for a touchdown against Oakland Raiders free safety Reggie Nelson (27) during the second half at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

3rd Quarter

The 3rd quarter was one to forget for the Raiders, and was arguably their worst quarter of football the entire season. Oakland choked a 24-7 lead, surrendering 18 unanswered points, trailing 25-24 by the time the quarter was over.

It was a complete disaster. It was a “everything that can go wrong, will go wrong” situation. Derek Carr dislocated a pinky on his throwing hand, the defense gave up several big plays, and every ounce of momentum swayed in favor of Carolina.

A fumble by Carr — the play in which he hurt his pinky — led to a quick touchdown by the Panthers, which cut the lead down to 24-14.

On Carolina’s next drive, Cam Newton hit Ted Ginn Jr. for a 88-yard touchdown pass. 24-21, Raiders.

And for the third drive in a row, the Panthers again found the end zone. This time on a quick drive following an interception by Carr. Panthers take the lead, 25-24.

For a team with aspirations of playing on a certain Sunday in February, these types of performances cannot happen. Against a top-tier team in the playoffs, the Raiders simply cannot put together 15 minutes of football like that, and expect to win.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) runs the ball against Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short (99) during the first half at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Run Game

Where did Oakland’s run game go?

After dismantling the Broncos defense with a devastatingly effective ground attack — 43 carries for 218 yards and 3 TDs — Oakland’s run game has pulled a Houdini. For the second week in a row, the NFL’s 5th ranked rushing offense has disappeared.

Against the Panthers, the Raiders totaled 55 yards on the ground on 30 carries, good for an average of 1.8 yards per carry. Yikes.

The week before, against Houston, the Raiders accrued just 30 yards on 20 carries — an average of 1.5 yards per carry. For those of you counting at home, that’s 85 yards on 50 carries over the last two games. That’s….not good.

This is something that can’t continue. If the Raiders are reduced to a one-dimensional offense, it’s only a matter of time before it catches up with them.

Nov 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) celebrates with quarterback Cam Newton (1) his touchdown scored against the Oakland Raiders during the second half at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Defense: Big Plays

The Raiders defense had seemingly turned the corner, with impressive performances against Tampa Bay and Denver, and a quality outing against Houston.

But against the Panthers, all of that progress took a backseat to another poor showing. The Raiders allowed 358 yards of total offense, with big chunks of that being gained over a handful of plays.

There was a 47-yard gain by Jonathan Stewart late in the 1st quarter, which eventually setup a touchdown for Carolina that would tie the game at 7.

There was an 88-yard touchdown reception by Ted Ginn Jr., on a play where he left T.J. Carrie in the dust. The touchdown brought Carolina’s deficit to 24-19, which was a huge swing in the momentum.

And then there was a 44-yard touchdown catch on a jump ball by Kelvin Benjamin, which gave the Panthers a 32-25 lead early in the 4th quarter.

That’s three plays for a total of 179 yards — two of which were touchdowns. To put that in context — the Panthers gained EXACTLY 50 percent of their total yards on just 5 percent of their offensive plays.

That’s insane.

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