Lost in the many other strange and unfortunate events that took place in Kansas City on Sunday was the fact the Raiders came close to getting within a field goal of the Chiefs in the final minute of the game.
During the nine-play drive that ultimately ended in an interception, Michael Crabtree checked himself out of the game for four of the last five plays.
Was he injured or tired, or was it something else?
“I just don’t remember when I played with Jerry Rice and Time Brown in critical situations, those guys just nosying on over to the sideline,” former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon noted during the CBS broadcast. “I would be livid if I was Derek Carr. ‘You can’t give me a couple of plays for a minute?’ It’s amazing.”
It appears that on the final play Crabtree starts to head back onto the field before wide receivers coach Rob Moore motions Cordarrelle Patterson back onto the field. Moore also appears to make a quick comment after Crabtree returns but it’s too short to tell what he said.
It was on the following play that Carr threw the interception that sealed the game.
It all happened in what some have coined “garbage time” but had the Raiders scored, they would have been within a possession of the Chiefs and Giorgio Tavecchio had already pulled off one of the best looking onside kicks you’ll ever see.
Maybe we’ll get some clarity in the days ahead, but at the very least it wasn’t a good look for Crabtree, who didn’t appear to be hobbled at any point during the possession.
twitter: @raidersbeat
And the Patriots just sign Kenny Britt. So we are still stuck with the Concrete hand trio. Keep up the goid work Reggie. Thumbs up
They need to rid themselves of Crabtree next year. He’s a headcase, drops too many passes, and lacks top speed. The problem is that we then have to trust McKenzie to draft a quality replacement. And that is one thing that just won’t happen. Reggie needs to have someone else do the draft selections.