The Raiders Pull Off the Notorious "Two-Buc Chuck" to Seal Victory in Overtime

The Oakland Raiders just needed one game-winning drive to put away the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers.

Derek Carr gave them four.

Despite a comedy of Raiders errors—two missed game-winning field goals, an NFL-record number of accepted penalties in a single game—Carr and his receivers kept making jaw-dropping plays.

Say anything you want about the consistency of their defense, the immaturity of their temperament or the aggressiveness of their tactics. These flaws have been their downfall before, and by all rights should have been today. But Derek Carr took everything in stride, handled every bit of adversity and made play after play after spectacular play.

Most of the game gave little inclination we were in for an all-time finish; the Bucs took a penalty-soaked 10-3 lead into halftime. The first interesting thing to happen was Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn catching a touchdown against his old team:

BIG MAN TD ALERT! @DPENN70 finds the end zone against hit former squad #OAKvsTB https://t.co/QIwTbeZLVH
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2016

Carr continued to pile on yards and points, even as the penalties kept flying. He found Amari Cooper for a beautiful 34-yard touchdown strike. Jameis Winston and the Bucs answered right back with a lightning-fast three-play scoring drive—but snakebitten rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo missed the extra point.

It would become significant.

Soon, Winston would lead the Bucs on another scoring drive—but this one was fueled more by four Raiders penalties than anything Winston did. No matter, as Carr got the ball back and threw it until they scored (seriously, a nine-play touchdown drive with two penalties but zero rushing attempts). He repeatedly hit Cooper and Michael Crabtree through tight windows for big chunk gains; the exclamation point went to a tight end Mychal Rivera, who'd recently been a healthy scratch.

Now tied at 24 (remember the extra point?), the Raiders defense got a much-needed stop, and a good return set up Carr and the offense with a short field. One ten-yard pass got them within range of big-legged Sebastian Janikowski, and…

…he missed it.

But the Raiders got the ball to start overtime, and Carr went back to work. A 45-yard completion to Crabtree set up a second potential game-winning field goal, and…

…he missed it.

The defense got a stop, and Carr tried to do it again. But penalties wiped out a 41-yard pass to Crabtree, and a 15-yard pass to receiver Seth Roberts AND a 13-yard pass to tight end Clive Walford. Another punt, and another stop later, and finally Carr's mojo overcame everything.

The miraculous confluence of great throw, great catch and two colliding defenders for a walk-off 41-yard touchdown is so fantastic it deserves it's own immortal nickname, ready to join the pantheon of great plays.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "The Two-Buc Chuck" (trademarked):

Behold, as the incoming safety's lowered shoulder slices the corner off of Roberts with accidentally surgical precision:

The Raiders are now 5-0 on the road, 6-2 overall and repeatedly triumphant in closely fought contests. Carr finished with an astounding stat line: He completed 40 of his whopping 59 pass attempts, for 513 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Best of all, he's consistently played his best when his team needed him most—confirming both his firm grasp on the playbook and his undeniable maturity.

Carr's no longer a "great young quarterback," he's just a great quarterback. For all the Raiders' quirks, flaws and holes, it's tough to stop a team that has that ace up their sleeve.

Now that they're 6-2 and leading the AFC West down the backstretch, it's time to stop asking if the Raiders can make the playoffs--and start wondering how far they can go when they get there.