It’s doubly miraculous for Derek Carr and the Raiders in comeback victory over Chiefs

When Derek Carr suffered a broken bone in his back against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 1, no one really knew when he’d play again. The only thing that seemed certain: it’d be a while.

An injury diagnosed as a transverse process fracture should have meant an absence of at least two and maybe as many as six weeks. Except for the ex-Fresno State star.

Carr miraculously resumed practice three days after his injury, sat out one game but came off the injury report this week and helped the Oakland Raiders to a miracle of their own – a come-from-behind 31-30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

How did he do it?

“It’s the worst thing,” Carr told NFL Network. “You can’t walk. The only thing I can tell you is, it was God. I got down and I prayed and I said the only way I’m going to be able to come back is if you can help me.

“Within a couple of days I can absolutely do everything and I was able to play.”

Carr capped the comeback by hitting Michael Crabtree with a 2-yard touchdown with no time left – after a defensive penalty allowed for a final untimed play – and Giorgio Tavecchio’s extra point gave the Raiders the victory.

The Raiders marched 85 yards in the final 2 minutes 25 seconds. Carr has engineered 13 fourth-quarter comebacks and 13 game-winning drives dating to 2014. His 12 fourth-quarter comebacks since 2015 are the most in the NFL.

Almost lost in Carr’s recovery and the late-game dramatics was just how important the win was for the Raiders, who had slipped two games under .500 after a 2-0 start.

Falling to “2-5 didn’t sound good. That didn’t sit well with us,” said Carr, who completed 29 of 52 for 417 yards and three touchdowns – two of those TDs to Amari Cooper. “… We just kept looking at each other and kept believing because the only thing that is going to get us out of the situation is the guys in that locker room. No one is going to come save us, no one is going to do some magic thing and go our way. We have to earn it.

“We wouldn’t want it in any other way, and we have a tough road to go. We’re 3-4 and we’re not happy. We can’t look at this and say, ‘Oh man, we did it.’ We have a long way to go to reach the goals we want. We’re headed in the right way.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 11:22 PM with the headline "It’s doubly miraculous for Derek Carr and the Raiders in comeback victory over Chiefs."