It took all four quarters, and nearly all of overtime, but the Oakland Raiders eventually beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24, improving their record to 6-2, and their road record to an impressive 5-0.
| [ |
Derek Carr was superb Sunday afternoon against the Bucs, completing 40 of 59 pass attempts, for a franchise record 513 yards, and four touchdowns in the Week 8 victory. However, perhaps his most unlikely score of the day came on a one-yard pass to tackle Donald Penn who had reported as an eligible receiver as the Raiders lined up at the goal line in the third quarter.
Penn's touchdown – the fourth of his career – was especially meaningful for the veteran left tackle, as Sunday's matchup at Raymond James Stadium marked the first time he was back in Tampa Bay squaring off against his former team since being released at the end of the 2013 season.
Most importantly for both Penn and the Raiders, the Silver and Black flew back to the Bay Area with a win over the Bucs in tow, but I have a feeling that the return flight to California was a little sweeter for Penn following his surprise visit to the end zone, and it is this week's Right Combination Play presented by State Farm.
After the touchdown, No. 72 broke down the score.
Pre-snap:
"I didn't even know the call was in. [Quarterback] Derek [Carr] came and got me early, and said, 'hey, check in. Check in.' I was like, 'all right,' because we had a couple of plays where I was checked in as tight end, and he was like, 'no, it's your play.' I was happy. I was surprised it was one of the first calls early, but I knew that we were going to go out there and execute. I just wanted to score that touchdown so bad in Tampa, and I just wanted everything to go perfect. I was like, 'please, don't anybody know that it's me,' and when it happened, I leaked out, and I saw everybody run the other way when I went to the right, and D.C. rolled out, he made eye contact with me, and I knew it was coming. I felt like it took forever for the ball to get there, but I was just waiting, and snatched it up."
As soon as Penn got to the line of scrimmage, he knew the play had a good chance of succeeding:
"I did, because [defensive tackle] [Gerald] McCoy – I played with him in Tampa, and [linebacker] Lavonte [David], I played with him Tampa when I scored [a] touchdown, so once I lined up, and I didn't hear [anybody] saying anything like, 'hey, watch out for Penn,' I was like, 'okay, I have a good chance of this, of doing this.' We executed. It worked out perfect, and I have to thank Coach Del Rio and Bill Musgrave for having the faith in me, and calling it; they called it early too. That was the first touchdown."
Once Penn scored, he soaked up every minute of the celebration:
"I sat there and posed, so they knew who did it, and knew that they missed out on me."
