The Oakland Raiders went from 6-4 and riding a three-game winning streak, to 6-6 in the blink of an eye after two blowout losses in back-to-back weeks.
The egg-lay against the aimless New York Jets in Week 12 was a stunner as Derek Carr led exactly zero touchdown drives. Again last Sunday, the Raiders were burned by 31 points by the Kansas City Chiefs, which included two Carr interceptions that led 14 points for their rivals.
The Raiders entered the Jets game with a shot at the division title. Three weeks later, they are a longshot to surpass the Chiefs and are barely clinging to remain in playoff contention.
The Raiders' defense has been carved up, but that has been the case much of the season. The biggest issue for Jon Gruden's team the last two weeks, however, was the offense falling apart like a 1984 jalopy. Oakland went 147 plays between touchdowns before last week's garbage-time score.
"I've had a rough two weeks," Carr said after practice Wednesday, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. "We've had a rough two weeks. It's time to get back on track. ...
"You can rewind two weeks ago we were the greatest story in the NFL. Two weeks later we suck again. I think we'll be all right. We're going to keep grinding. We're going to stick to what we do."
With the ever fickle Gruden calling the shots, how Carr closes the season could be a big factor in the Raiders' offseason approach.
On the plus side for Carr and Oakland, the Raiders only face one team with a winning record among their final four games, Sunday's opponent, the Tennessee Titans. A win this week against a team one game ahead of them on the postseason waiting list could keep flagging hopes for a playoff spot alive.
