It's a hell of thing for Oakland Raiders fans to be dealing with on Christmas Eve, but Derek Carr has a broken leg and his season likely is over. Your playoff hopes now rest in the hands of backup QB Matt McGloin.
McGloin has been the Raiders' backup QB for the past four years, but no one could blame you if you didn't know that. The Raiders have been terrible, and McGloin hasn't made a start since 2013. That year, the undrafted free agent out of Penn State made six starts, completing 55.9 percent of his passes for 1,547 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He threw for three TDs in his first career start, a 28-23 victory over the Texans, and has remained on the roster while Matt Flynn, Matt Schaub and Terrelle Pryor all were jettisoned. But McGloin has been glued to the bench since Derek Carr was drafted in 2014.
McGloin held off an Indianapolis Colts rally in the fourth quarter Saturday, completing a 19-yard pass to Amari Cooper on third-and-8, and Oakland ran out the clock for a 33-25 win.
"I'm ready to go," McGloin told reporters. "I know this team, these guys around me, this staff, this organization will do a great job of helping me out and embracing me. Just making sure we continue to move in the right direction."
Now he takes over a 12-3 Raiders team that's going to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and can wrap up the AFC West title with a win at Denver next week or a Chiefs loss Sunday.
If the Raiders can't keep McGloin upright against the defending Super Bowl champs, their third-string QB is Connor Cook, a rookie out of Michigan State. A fourth-round pick, actually. Like Dak Prescott.
Just a little something to think about, Raiders fans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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