Lowell Cohn: Derek Carr delivers the goods when Raiders need it most

OAKLAND - The reason Derek Carr led the Raiders to a 35-32 win against the Carolina Panthers is simple. Good Derek came to the rescue of Bad Derek.

Good Derek had been there in the first half, leading the Raiders to a 24-7 lead. It seemed like the Panthers were dead, this former Super Bowl team. They hardly could score or defend, and you figured the Raiders had the game won. Then the strangest sequence of events occurred, events involving Carr.

On the second play of the third quarter, Carr put his hands under center for the snap. The usual routine. But he didn't get the snap. The game notes used the word “aborted.” From where I sat, it seemed Carr let his hands go limp. He did not take the ball. He may have jammed his right pinkie on the center's tush. Tush being the technical term for buttocks. He dangled his right pinkie like it was broken. He left the field. Oh, dear.

Even after the game, Carr did not know what happened. Said he's practiced the center-quarterback exchange countless times and nothing like that ever happened. Said he'd have to watch the film. An all-time first, watching the film of the snap. But he was sure of the pain. It was the worst pain he'd experienced in his life. That's what he said. Pain shooting through his pinkie.

Khalil Mack watched Carr leave the field and started praying. “That's my homie,” Mack said.

The homie went into the locker room where the medical staff gave him tests. Took an X-ray. Nothing busted. They tried to figure a way to protect the hand without impeding Carr's ability to pass. Came up with a black glove.

“Where did the glove come from?” I asked after the game.

“This is good stuff, man,” Carr said.

“Are there gloves?” I asked. “Where did the glove come from?”

“Our equipment room. We were just trying to come up with ideas.”

Mack saw him emerge from the tunnel and said to himself, “Clutch, MVP.” And when Carr began to play, Mack thought, “Coming back after having a little nick nack. Throwing strikes. I'm glad he's my quarterback.”

At that point, Mack was wrong. Good Derek had entered the locker room. But Bad Derek emerged. He looked like Dr. Strangelove with that glove and, for a while, he played like Dr. Strangelove. Dr. Strangle-glove?

Understand his finger still hurt like hell. He doesn't use that as an excuse. While he was undergoing tests and getting a glove, the Panthers scored a touchdown - they had recovered Carr's fumble in Raiders territory. They closed the gap to 11 points.

It may be a coincidence, but the Raiders went dead without Carr around. Backup QB Matt McGloin took over for one series. Horrendous. Carolina got the ball again. Cam Newton threw an 88-yard TD to Ted Ginn. The Panthers pulled to within five. And, yes, the Raiders defense against the deep pass needs work.

Carr jogged onto the field wearing the glove. From the point on, he never went under center, played from the shotgun - less chance to jam a finger on a tush.

You figured Carr would restore order, be the sheriff. Do what he does. He moved the Raiders up the field, threw neat passes. Then he ran forward, threw the ball in a hurry. Pick. Bad pass by Bad Derek. A total reversion to what he used to be - reckless, unclear about the defense. And now the Panthers had the ball because of Bad Derek, and scored a TD and took a one-point lead, 25-24. Disaster.

Bad Derek was infecting the entire team. It got worse. The Panthers scored a TD on a 44-yard pass. Went up 32-24. And, yes, the Raiders defense against the deep pass needs work. And now the Raiders seemed like the dead team, like the outclassed team, like the embarrassed team.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Bad Derek exited stage left - got lost - and Good Derek returned. Sure he had thrown the pick. “That sucks, obviously,” he said. “The mood was, ‘We've been here before.' There was no doubt in our minds we could move the ball and win. There's never a doubt. You clap your hands. You've got to go.”

He led the Raiders to a game-tying TD early in the fourth quarter. Being Good Derek, throwing a TD pass to Clive Walford.

And then came to the key moments of the game. The Panthers couldn't get a first down. Punted. Giving the Raiders a chance for the win with about five minutes left. Good Derek had all the confidence in the world.

He said Jack Del Rio makes the two-minute drill as difficult for Carr as he can. In training camp. In practice. Makes Carr suffer. So, Carr has experienced the worst in practice and does not feel intimidated in a game. “When he does that,” Carr said of Del Rio's practice torture, “and you have success, it gives you belief. It doesn't matter the situation.”

It really didn't matter. Carr moved the team slowly down the field. A field goal would be enough if they could use up the clock. On third down, he hit Michael Crabtree with a gorgeous 49-yard pass. A defender was called for pass interference on the play, making the degree of difficulty more difficult for Crabtree. He held on although his helmet went flying.

“We had Crabtree one-on-one with their guy with his back turned,” Carr said. “You know me, man. I'm going to give my guys chances to make plays. When you get a matchup like that, you've got to take that chance.”

Reminder: There are more great catches than great throws. Crabtree made a great catch. And the Raiders went on to score a field goal. And their defense closed out the game. And Carr now has five fourth-quarter comeback wins this season.

Against the powerful, proud Panthers, Good Derek won a game Bad Derek tried to lose.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.