Silverman: Carr Injury Shows Raiders Just How Unfair NFL Can Be

By Steve Silverman
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The pro football gods have a strange sense of humor.

If they didn't, why would they allow the Oakland Raiders to build a talented team through the draft, show dramatic improvement in 2016 and let them get to the top of the AFC West standings, only to pull the rug out from under them by having their quarterback break his fibula in Week 16?

It was all there for the Raiders, who had been awful for years and years. They drafted Derek Carr prior to the 2014 season, and he has made steady if not spectacular progress since, and they appeared ready to make a run at the New England Patriots for AFC superiority.

But Carr's broken leg means an untested Matt McGloin is the one who will try to get them to the Super Bowl. He will face a major test this week when the Raiders go to Denver in an attempt to hold off the Chiefs for first place in the division and possibly earn the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

If the Raiders can beat the defending Super Bowl champions, who were eliminated from playoff contention last week, they will be the top seed if the Pats lose their season finale in Miami.

Anything is possible, but it's much more likely to fall apart for the Raiders rather quickly. That's often the way life is in the NFL, as it's not about being the best team in the league. It hasn't been for a long time, either.

The idea is to be the hottest team as the playoffs come along.

The Patriots, who regularly manage to come close in both categories, are once again a contender. The hottest teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, and it might not be a surprise if one of those two ends up raising the Lombardi Trophy in early February.

The Dallas Cowboys remain nearly as hot as anyone in the league, but the New York Giants have come up with a game plan that has beaten them twice this year. In the copycat world of the NFL, teams like the Packers and Atlanta Falcons can see what the Giants did and try to use a similar gameplan to knock the 'Boys off their perch.

Despite their inexperience, a pair of gold-dust rookies in running back Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott have carried the Cowboys to the top of the league standings and allowed them to stay there all season. However, the playoffs are another world, and it just might prove to be too much for Prescott, if not both rookies.

But the Raiders are the team that has suffered the big blow, and while head coach Jack Del Rio has been talking a brave game, the Carr injury is a major blow for a team that appears to be on the cusp of recalling its glory years.

For many fans, the Raiders were a given as first an AFL power and then in the NFL. The late Al Davis may have stepped on a lot of toes around the league with his aggressive, in-your-face style, but he was able to build a perennial power.

He knew talent, knew how to develop it and he understood what it would take for players to compete at their highest level.

The NFL was a much richer league when the Raiders and Davis were in the limelight.

They had a chance to get there again before the Carr injury, but Del Rio said the team is not giving up.

"Teams have to find a way to pick up and move on," Del Rio said. "We'll rally around the next guy as best we can."

But as the coach was trying to put on a brave front, linebacker Bruce Irvin couldn't help but tell the truth.

"We lost our leader," he said.

McGloin will have to be something of a miracle worker if the Raiders are going to survive. Trying to win at Denver is always brutal, regardless of the prowess of the home team. Let's not forget the Broncos are a proud organization and nobody should assume they are not still capable of teaching the young Raiders a lesson.

That seems more likely than letting their longtime rivals come into Sports Authority Field and dance on their turf.

If that happens and McGloin actually thrives in Denver, the Raiders will have their chance to finish their storybook year.

But a loss would likely mean that they lose the division title, fall to the fifth seed and play in the wild-card round.

If that happens, it would be a road game against the fourth-seeded Houston Texans.

Based on the Texans' postseason history, that could be just what McGloin needs to feel comfortable.

But even if they could survive that game, a trip to New England would likely follow.

The pro football gods can be a mean and fickle bunch.

Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy