Football can be a cruel, cruel sport, and the Oakland Raiders and left tackle Donald Penn are finding that out firsthand following Derek Carr’s broken fibula.
The injury was as devastating as they come. Carr was a potential MVP quarterback for a suddenly resurgent franchise on the cusp of a No. 1 seed who was taken out right before the playoffs. Add in that the franchise might soon be moving to Las Vegas, and the injury happened with the Raiders up 19 in the fourth quarter, and you can practically feel the anguish emanating from Oakland.
That’s bad enough, but in an even crueler twist, the injury was the “fault” of Penn, one of the best offensive lineman in the NFL.
Penn was blocking Colts linebacker Trent Cole on the play when Cole broke free and sacked Carr, breaking his fibula in the process.
Not only was that the Colts’ only sack of Carr on Saturday, Penn himself had not given up a sack all season. The one time he slipped up cost the team more than just a few yards. Sometimes life just isn’t fair, and Penn was understandably emotional about the play during postgame interviews.
#Raiders LT Donald Penn taking Derek Carr's injury personally. "I'm mad at myself. I ain't never got a quarterback hurt in my whole career." pic.twitter.com/bSxdZC4Maw
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) December 25, 2016
Hopefully Penn is following his own words today and not continuing to beat himself up. The Raiders are still going to the playoffs, with or without Carr under center. If Oakland wants a chance at doing anything in January, they are gonna need Penn playing at his absolute best, which is pretty damn good by the way.
Highest-graded OTs:
1. Trent Williams, 92.4
2. Andrew Whitworth, 90.6
3. David Bakhtiari, 90.1
4. Jack Conklin, 89.5
5. Donald Penn, 88.5 pic.twitter.com/FCFUMMPtye— PFF (@PFF) December 21, 2016
With Carr out for the season, the spotlight turns to backup quarterback Matt McGloin, who has thrown just 45 passes in the last three seasons. It will make an already improbable turnaround that much more incredible if McGloin can adequately fill the space Carr left behind, but it is safe to say the Raiders have suddenly gone from AFC dark horse back to massive underdog once again. That’s not really Penn’s fault; everyone allows sacks, and he’s allowed incredibly few. It’s just unfortunate that the one he did allow ended so badly.
[Courtney Cronin on Twitter]
