The Raiders’ playoff hopes are slim. Oakland will need to beat the Broncos in Denver Sunday and have several other games fall into place for Jon Gruden’s team to make the postseason as a wild card with an 8-8 record.
So, the Raiders will need every chance they can get Sunday.
And, if the matchup with the Broncos is close and comes down to the end, Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson may be called upon to save the season.
Which, for Raiders fans, certainly would be a nail-biting moment.
Carlson, the second-year kicker out of Auburn, hasn’t exactly been Mr. Automatic recently.
Since November, Carlson has missed five field-goal attempts and two extra points, and is just 16-of-22 on field goals in 2019 after making 16-of-17 in eight games with the team in 2018.
But, Gruden has faith in his kicker. Carlson came through in a win over the Chargers last weekend by hitting all four of his kicks.
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“We’re going to see this kid kick himself out of it,” Gruden told reporters this week. “This is a great kid. He’s got a great amount of talent. I saw him hit 15 in a row last year, and I got a lot faith in this guy, I really do. He’s going to kick himself out of it, or I’ll be very disappointed. I’ve got a lot of faith in this kid.”
Sunday’s regular-season finale is set to kick off at 1:25 p.m. (Bay Area time).
