SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 18: Head Coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on from the sidelines during his teams game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on December 18, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
The Oakland Raiders saw their remarkable season crumble before their eyes on Christmas Eve when Derek Carr fractured his leg, thus ending his year. He was an MVP candidate (and still is), the Raiders were Super Bowl contenders and the franchise's resurgence was in full effect.
Without Carr, though, they had little to no chance. That was especially evident after losing to the Denver Broncos in Week 17, stripping the Raiders of their first-round bye and the No. 2 seed. It wasn't just Carr that caused the downfall, though, that is if you believe Jack Del Rio, who offered another explanation for their disastrous season finale.
Jack Del Rio said on Sunday in his year-end press conference that the Raiders were hit hard with a sickness. It spread throughout the locker room and team facility, impacting 30 guys.
"A little bit of what looked like a flat effort was more due to 30 guys having some kind of illness going into that [Denver] game," Del Rio said, via ESPN. "It was a rough weekend, players and coaches going down. I think that was probably more involved in that type of feel that there just wasn't that normal zest and energy."
One might ask why Del Rio waited until now to reveal the flu epidemic that riddled the Raiders' roster. Understandably, he didn't want it to seem like an excuse for losing in Week 17.
"I just never spoke to it because I didn't want it to sound like an alibi," Del Rio continued. "And I still don't want it to sound like an alibi. That's why it never came up. But again, we had some flu mixed in with a lot of colds in a lot of people. It didn't sound good on the plane coming back."
The Raiders wore surgical masks on the flight to keep it from spreading even more, which is telling of just how big an issue the illness was. It's one thing if five or six players were impacted, but 30 within the organization? That's jarring.
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