It’s Foxboro. It’s the Raiders. So, of course, the conversation always shifts to the 2001 AFC Divisional round game and the fumble by Tom Brady which was infamously and erroneously wiped away by the now-defunct Tuck Rule.
That’s, of course, one of those moments that is etched in the history of the game. And certainly in Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s head, as it was the final game of his first tenure with the Raiders. But Gruden’s not the only one on this team with bad memories in Foxboro. His quarterback has some more recent memories.
It was Derek Carr’s rookie season. The second-round pick had beaten out veteran Matt Schaub for the starting job with the Raiders. He lost his first two starts and was headed to New England for the first leg of a journey that would continue to Old England in Week 4.
Being a rookie quarterback going into Foxboro didn’t seem to offer much chance of success, but the defense played well enough in the game to give the Raider a chance late.
It was a seven-point game, with the Raiders down 16-9. Carr and the offense got the ball with 3:12 to go and started to march down the field. A pass interference penalty on Logan Ryan set the Raiders up in first and goal from the six, and on the next play, Darren McFadden runs it in for the touchdown. But wait, there’s a flag. It was a holding penalty on Gabe Jackson.
The Raiders would set up in first and goal again at the 16-yard-line. Carr dropped back and threw for Denarius Moore at the goal line, only to have it bounce off Moore’s facemask and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork caught it in the air for the interception. Threat over. And with under a minute remaining, it was game over.
I asked Derek Carr about that moment and he recalled how he felt and what he took from it.
“If you’ve ever failed at something, sometimes you regroup, you think about it, and you’re like man how can a grow, how can I be better so that I don’t have that feeling again,” said Carr.
“I remember going on a two-minute drive in Foxboro where Darrelle Revis is out there, Vince Wilfork, all these guys. We are going on this drive, we score a touchdown to win the game, it’s over, we think we’re going to win, boom we get a penalty, boom turnover and it’s like man, that’s how close this game is.”
Carr very nearly had his first career win in his third game. Instead, the Raiders headed for London, where they lost again, fired head coach Dennis Allen, promoted Tony Sparano to interim head coach, and Carr would go 0-10 to begin his career before getting his first win.
I would imagine during that 10-game losing streak, it was hard not to think about that time in Foxboro where you nearly stopped that streak from every happening. All he could do from there was try and use it as motivation.
“It’s definitely stuff you can use for fuel to motivate you in the offseason, but at the end of the day, that was how ever many years ago that was, six seven years ago now, it’s not something where I’m like man, I got to get back at them. It’s two different teams and I’m going to go into it like that. But to say it hasn’t motivated me throughout my career would be a lie. It’s one of those things where man I don’t want to feel that way. It’s one of those things that keeps you going.”
Things are certainly very different this year than they’d been the previous 20 years. Namely, Tom Brady is no longer there. He’s replaced by Cam Newton.
Even still, and for what it’s worth, Carr said of Brady “CWood definitely stripped him, that’s for sure.” and Gruden said “He did fumble that (expletive) ball.”
[vertical-gallery id=73907]
[lawrence-newsletter]