One of the best stories of the 2016 NFL season has been the long awaited re-emergence of the Oakland Raiders and their great young quarterback Derek Carr. Unfortunately for Raiders fans, they are going to have a bittersweet Christmas this year after taking their 12th win but losing their star QB in the process.

Carr broke his fibula early in the fourth quarter during their game against the Indianapolis Colts. While Raider fans were trying to be optimistic and hoping the injury wasn’t serious, you could see Carr mouthing the word “broken” a few times and being in obvious pain after he was tackled. Matt McGloin is going to be starting quarterback as the Raiders enter their playoff run.

In his postgame press conference, head coach Jack Del Rio confirmed what fans feared as Carr suffered the broken leg, will undergo surgery and said that “he’s going to be down for a while.”

Owner Mark Davis summed up what everyone else thought.

I’m usually against owners trying to coach their team but considering the Raiders tried to pass on 2nd and long while up by 19 in the fourth quarter, I’ll make an exception here.

Once a team who could give the New England Patriots a run for their money in the playoffs, the Raiders are now an incredibly weaker team, despite being 12-3 and currently holding the 2nd spot in the AFC. Stranger things have happened and there could be a chance that the Raiders could still make a run but every team in the AFC is now seeing a vulnerable team who lost their best player at the worst time. All Raider fans can hope is that Derek Carr can make a full recovery and go for it next season.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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