Raiders saw an opportunity and took advantage to seal win over Broncos

Without Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, it may have seemed difficult for the Oakland Raiders to get a win against the Denver Broncos, right?

No problem for ex-Fresno State star Derek Carr and company.

On third-and-8 with 2:24 remaining, Carr connected with Cordarrelle Patterson who bursted out for a 54-yard reception that sealed the Raiders’ 21-14 victory over the Broncos on Sunday.

Crabtree (fight) and Cooper (concussion) left during the game.

Carr described what he noticed on the Broncos’ defense on the key play.

“It’s where nobody is deep,” he said. “They’re trying to pressure and get the ball out of my hand fast. It happens a lot, people like to come after the quarterback.”

Carr said Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing does a good job preparing for that likelihood, recognizing the defense’s design and picking the right play to go against it.

“Great call,” Carr said of the third-down play.

Patterson said he was surprised how the Broncos lined up for the key play. “I guess because we were down two receivers they thought they could get pressure on Derek, but he did an excellent job seeing man coverage and just seeing me one-on-one with the free safety or cornerback or whoever it was. He just put the ball so perfect there was no way I couldn’t make a play on that.”

The Raiders improved to 5-6 and will next face the New York Giants on Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Oakland is a game behind the Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) and tied with the Los Angeles Chargers (5-6) in second place.

“This is was a must-win for us. Like they all are,” Carr said. “It’s an exciting thing because we’re right there. We know where we stand, but at the same time we have to go take care of business ourselves.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Raiders saw an opportunity and took advantage to seal win over Broncos."