Barber: Raiders waiting for Derek Carr’s magic

OAKLAND - The most important part of Jack Del Rio's postgame press conference came toward the end, when someone asked the Raiders head coach if he had the feeling Derek Carr, the franchise quarterback out with a broken bone in his back, will be able to play against the Chargers next week.

“Yeah, I have that feeling,” Del Rio said, his voice clipped.

And thank goodness for that. The Raiders were down 14-0 less than four minutes into their game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday - “before the fans are sitting down,” as Del Rio said - and never fully recovered en route to a 30-17 loss. It was Oakland's third consecutive stumble, dropping this supposed playoff contender to 2-3.

But there's no reason to worry, people. Everything will be just fine when the gunslinger returns to the practice field in a couple days.

Never mind that Carr and his offense were pretty terrible in the roughly 6½ quarters of football that preceded his injury.

Yes, the game at Washington on Sept. 24 was a nightmare. Carr had 118 passing yards, threw two interceptions (one of them on his first pass of the game, under no duress whatsoever) and was sacked four times. The Raiders had 128 total yards that night. Things didn't go a whole lot better at Denver on Oct. 1. Carr was 10 of 18 for 143 yards and his team had seven points with 5 minutes left in the third quarter when he was kneed in the back and bent like a pretzel on a sack by former teammate Shelby Harris.

So no, the Raiders hadn't figured out how to unlock the door to offensive firepower in 2017. But with Carr under center, they certainly could have picked the lock. Instead, they were forced to go with backup E.J. Manuel, who had started just seven NFL games over the previous three seasons.

Don't be fooled by Manuel's solid relief performance against the Broncos and his capable start against the Ravens. All the Raiders need is that Carr mojo.

His absence was definitely felt at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday. Just look at the 365 yards the Ravens racked up, and their 143 rushing yards. Forget about the Raiders' missed tackles and botched coverages. If Carr had played, there's no way Baltimore would have had the ball long enough to eat up that yardage.

Let's get into some of the nuts and bolts.

The Ravens went up 7-0 just 2:15 into the game. As the Raiders tried to equalize, Manuel threw a short pass to Jared Cook at the Oakland 45-yard line. The tight end caught the ball, then booted it. Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith scooped up the leather and ran 47 yards for a touchdown that took some air out of the home crowd.

“I was just trying to put the ball in my outside arm and the defender came through and swiped it, and they tackled me at the same time,” Cook explained. “That was my fault. Self-inflicted wounds is not something we need on this offense.”

Well, have you ever seen Derek Carr play football? I'm certain he would have completed that pass to Cook, then raced ahead of the action to block a safety. When Cook fumbled forward, Carr would been right there for the recovery.

That wasn't the only time the ball made contact with the ground after making contact with Jared Cook's hands. A couple of Manuel's passes to the tight end on big third-down plays were oh-so-close but incomplete. Maybe Manuel threw them a few inches too far. Maybe Cook should have been able to close the deal. Maybe Carr's touch is so excellent that those passes would have nestled in Cook's hands like a butterfly alighting on a leaf. I'm going with Option C.

OK, the Raiders' offensive line, billed as one of the best in the NFL, has been pretty ordinary lately. Manuel was sacked three times Sunday, twice on third down to end possessions. That will change the minute Carr comes back. He knows how to dance away from blitzing linebackers. Anyway, defenders have too much respect for him to hit him. They tend to politely ask him to release the ball as they bear down on him.

Carr's injury even impacted Oakland's strategic approach. The crucial moment of this game occurred in the fourth quarter. The Raiders trailed 27-17, but showed some life as they picked up a couple first downs. They bogged down, though, and had fourth-and-3 at the Baltimore 44. There was 9:03 on the clock. And they… punted? Yes, they punted.

According to Pro Football Reference, they were the first team to punt it away on fourth-and-3 or shorter, down two scores in the fourth quarter and in the opponent's territory, since Arizona did it against Minnesota on October 21, 2012.

Del Rio's decision completely backfired on the Raiders. Marquette King's punt sailed into the end zone, failing to pin down the Ravens. And the visitors proceeded to run the ball down the Raiders' throats on the subsequent possession, grinding out four first downs and 6½ minutes of clock time before Justin Tucker kicked his third field goal of the game for a 30-17 lead.

“Hindsight is always 20/20 on things like that,” Del Rio said. “You're thinking you're going to pin them inside the 10, we didn't. You're thinking the defense will give us a stop and get us the ball back, we didn't. … A fourth-down call with nine minutes left in the game, 10 minutes left in the game, was that the difference today? I don't think so.”

But it was pretty much Game Over at that point. And you can blame that bone in Carr's back. If he had been the quarterback this day, he no doubt would have talked Del Rio into going for that fourth-and-3, changing the coach's mind with a heartfelt rant about God, country and a boot-option.

So don't give the Raiders' travails another thought. Sure they're already three games behind the Chiefs and 1½ games behind the Broncos in the AFC West. Sure they're trying to avoid their first four-game losing streak under Del Rio. Sure, the injuries have begun to pile up and the defense, which looked vastly improved in Weeks 1 and 2, has slipped into some bad old habits.

But don't worry about any of it. Just trust the process. That is, trust Carr's transverse process, the name of his fractured bone. Once it heals, this team is back on Easy Street.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.