CINCINNATI (AP) — Derek Carr kept his streak without an interception going. In the end, he couldn’t complete enough throws to give the Raiders a chance.
Carr extended his streak without an interception to nine games, but Oakland managed only 19 yards in the fourth quarter, helping the Cincinnati Bengals hold on for a 30-16 victory on Sunday .
The Bengals (6-8) got the better of a game between two struggling, injury-depleted teams. Oakland’s offensive line has been hit hard, forcing the Raiders (3-11) to keep shuffling players.
They managed to pull out a 24-21 win over the Steelers a week earlier and had a chance for another comeback, trailing 20-13 after the third quarter. They failed to convert a third-down play against the NFL’s worst defense the rest of the way.
“We’re working with our fourth and fifth guards,” Carr said.
Starting left guard Kelechi Osemele missed his second straight game with a toe injury. Starting right guard Gabe Jackson was inactive with an elbow injury. The line didn’t give the running backs much room — the Raiders managed only 68 yards rushing — and Carr was sacked five times.
“It was a very difficult situation for us today offensively, with all the changes,” coach Jon Gruden said. “We’ve got to do better, and I will acknowledge that was one tough situation that we were put under today.”
Doug Martin ran nine times for 39 yards, the Raiders’ leading rusher. Tight end Darren Waller accounted for nearly a third of the Raiders’ yards rushing, getting 21 on a reverse. Otherwise, there wasn’t much room to run.
“We didn’t have it today,” Martin said.
Carr has thrown 301 passes without an interception, breaking Rich Gannon’s club record from 2001. Overall, he was 21 of 38 for 263 yards with a touchdown . In the fourth quarter, Carr was 4 of 7 for 38 yards with three sacks.
After Daniel Carlson’s 40-yard field goal cut Cincinnati’s lead to 23-16 with 5:05 left, Alex Erickson returned the kickoff 77 yards, setting up Joe Mixon’s clinching touchdown run.
“We made it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, and the kickoff return by Erickson really hurt us,” Gruden said.
The Raiders already are in next-year mode. They fired general manager Reggie McKenzie on Monday and had little on the line against the Bengals, other than Carr’s interception streak and the chance to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
“I want to see us finish with authority, with as much juice as we have, and as much heart and soul as we can showcase,” Gruden said. “That’s what I want us to do.”
