The Raiders lost quarterback Derek Carr to a fractured fibula during last Saturday’s game and the injury occurred with the Raiders up 33-14 in the fourth quarter.
That’s led some to wonder if the Raiders, who had already clinched a playoff spot, should have been more cautious about having Carr in a game they led by three scores. Coach Jack Del Rio got a question on that topic during his Monday press conference and said he wasn’t second-guessing himself. Del Rio pointed to Colts quarterback Andrew Luck’s ability to put up points quickly, something he did to cut the score to 33-25 before the game was over.
“We felt we had to keep the pedal down on that opponent and that quarterback in that game,” Del Rio said, via the San Jose Mercury News. “You’re talking about a team facing elimination. We knew they were going to get everything they had to close the game any way they could. And we were prepared for that. The question would be a little different if it was like, ‘Coach, don’t you think you got a little conservative there? What the heck, you let them come back.’ And we’d be sitting here with a frown on our face because we wouldn’t have won our 12th game. So I think ... I’ll just leave it at that.”
Colts linebacker Trent Cole got past Raiders left tackle Donald Penn on second-and-18 after Penn slipped on the play and it was the first time that Penn has allowed a sack this season. It was also one of the few times the Colts got pressure on Carr all day and Carr has been sacked less frequently than any other quarterback in the league on per-dropback basis this season.
Those things all likely factored into Del Rio’s decision making along with his thoughts of a Colts comeback. Hindsight says the Raiders could have done otherwise, but, in the moment, it’s not hard to understand the coach’s thought process.
