The Oakland Raiders' first trip to the playoffs since 2002 will be a bitter-sweet moment for the franchise that lost Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr to a season-ending leg injury.
But it appears Carr isn't the only one who is feeling the aftereffects of the fourth-quarter tackle that altered the Raiders' Super Bowl hopes. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Trent Cole, the player who tackled Carr on the infamous play, said he's been receiving backlash on social media since Saturday's game.
"Yeah, there's been a lot of nasty things said," Cole said Thursday, via ESPN. "You have some people like that out there. I feel for them. That's their team and I know how much pride the Raiders take in their team. But at the same time, there was no intent to injure Derek so there's no need to say those harsh things.
"This is a violent game we play and things happen, and there's no need for people to be violent, to be harassing and saying different things. What happened was a freak accident. People get hurt all the time."
Carr was in the conversation for the league MVP before the injury. The third-year quarterback had thrown for 3,933 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions, helping the Raiders to a 12-3 mark.
Oakland will now turn to fourth-year quarterback Matt McGloin, who will start Sunday for the first time since 2013.
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