PHILADELPHIA — The Raiders’ defense played as if it grasped to slim playoff hopes, despite those being officially dashed the day before.
Yet with nothing pertaining to playoffs left to play for – only pride and maybe a job or two on Oakland’s coaching staff – the Raiders actually put up a fight…on one side of the ball. The Eagles had plenty at stake, as a win would’ve locked up the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Oakland offense seemed to try everything possible to gift the hosts that title.
Derek Carr and Co. did just that.
On this Christmas Day at Lincoln Financial Field, the Raiders (6-9) fell to Philadelphia (13-2), 19-10, in the ugliest of affairs. Oakland had plenty of chances to take a lead when nobody seemed to want to, but in fitting Raiders fashion they unraveled when it mattered most.
The Raiders didn’t score in the first quarter for the fifth time in the past six games. Carr completed 3-of-5 passes for only 20 yards and Marshawn Lynch carried five times for 15 yards against the NFL’s best run defense in terms of yards per game. Jay Ajayi, who the Dolphins traded to the Eagles the week of Oakland’s game in Miami, finally got his chance against the Raiders. His first six touches combined for 43 yards, including a 17-yard receiving touchdown on a Nick Foles screen pass to open the scoring.
Just when you thought the Raiders were lying down with nothing left to play for, Amari Cooper ran his best route of the season. His slant-and-go made Eagles’ cornerback Jalen Mills look silly. Carr hit Cooper in stride as No. 89 coasted into the end zone with the ball dangling form his right hand for a 63-yard touchdown to tie the game. Todd Downing went nuts on the sideline, a rare sight from the offensive coordinator throughout Oakland’s underwhelming season.
The Raiders committed six penalties that cost them 40 yards in the first half, but it was an Eagles’ miscue that gave Oakland a break heading into the second half when Jake Elliott missed a 33-yard field goal wide right with 11 seconds left in the half to keep the game tied at seven.
Despite the two teams playing with vastly different amounts at stake, neither seemed to want the win.
During a stretch late in the third quarter, both combined for three turnovers in four plays. First Patrick Robinson intercepted a Carr pass across the middle. Then Reggie Nelson forced an Ajayi fumble and TJ Carrie recovered. On the next play, Lynch fumbled for the first time in 179 carries this season and the Eagles recovered. Elliott, after missing his last chip shot, hit a 35-yarder to tie the game at 10 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
Instead of having their MVP-caliber quarterback Carson Wentz lead a fourth-quarter run-away, the Eagles went nowhere with Foles.
After throwing for seven touchdowns in his last matchup against the Raiders in 2013, Foles showed why Philadelphia dearly misses its starting quarterback. The Raiders’ defense stifled Philadelphia, salvaging a miserable offensive performance from the visitors.
Nelson picked off Foles to give Oakland possession at the Eagles’ 37-yard line, prime territory to finally take a lead. Yet four plays later, Jalen Richard lost the Raiders’ second fumble of the night, this one on the edge of the red zone.
Oakland had the ball with under a minute left near midfield, but Carr kept up his best Santa impersonation in giving the Eagles as many gifts as possible. He tossed his second interception of the day, and the Eagles took over with plenty of time to reach field-goal range. They did just that, and Elliott hit a 48-yarder with 22 seconds remaining for a 13-10 lead.
Carr got one final chance, though, with 17 seconds left and the ball at his own 36. He couldn’t do anything with it, hardly a surprise given the prior 59 minutes and change.
The Eagles returned a fumbled lateral for a touchdown as time expired, sparing eyes across America from watching any more of this hideous game.
