Tackle Donald Penn
Donald Penn knew he would be getting the points; the only question was which scoreboard they would be counting on.
With 10:30 left in the third quarter, and the Raiders on the one-yard line, the veteran tackle reported as an eligible receiver, lining up as an extra tackle on the right side of the offensive formation.
As soon as the ball was snapped, Penn rushed forward through the defensive line before turning outside and looking for the pass from Carr, which he eventually hauled in for the touchdown.
"I told D.C. [Carr], 'if I'm open, [you] better give me the ball,' but I told him, 'D.C., if you run it in, it don't matter, I got you on both of my fantasy teams,'" said the ever-candid Penn postgame. "I said, 'I'm going to get points either way.' We were joking about that in practice, I said, 'I'm going to get points either way.' I said, 'you know I want that touchdown.'"
Carr joked in his postgame press conference about possibly keeping the ball himself, and heading to the end zone for the first rushing touchdown of his career, but instead he threw it to the hulking left tackle for his fourth career touchdown.
"It was funny because in the week of practice we ran that play, and I ran it in to mess with him, and he just laughed at me, and was like, 'man, whatever,' and in the game we were able to throw it to him," Carr explained. "For him to come back – we talked with K.O. [Kelechi Osemele], with [Head] Coach [Jack] Del Rio, coming back to where they've been, and getting a win – I think that's all he cared about, but to get a touchdown, I think he was pretty pumped."
All jokes aside, Penn's touchdown was especially meaningful for the veteran tackle since it came back in Tampa Bay, against the team he spent the first eight seasons of his career with.
Penn didn't mince words throughout the week, saying how much this game in particular meant to him, and adding an exclamation point in the form of a trip to the end zone was a moment that No. 72 won't soon forget.
"I had a little chip on my shoulder, man, because I really didn't want get released when I did get released, when I thought I was going to retire a Buc, but everything happens for a reason," Penn said. "I'm happy I'm a Raider. I love being a Raider… I played eight years here. That's a long time in my life, eight years. I'm not going to play eight more years in the league."
Penn no doubt put his imprint on the game, both catching passes from, and protecting Carr, throughout the Week 8 win, but don't count him as one of the people surprised by the Raiders signal-caller's record-breaking day.
"People don't listen to me," Penn said. "I've been telling you about Derek since I met him. Y'all just believing it now; I've been telling you about this guy. Every time you ask me about him, I smile, and light up, man. I've been telling you. This guy's special, and he's showing y'all now. He's a special guy, special guy. Keep talking about everybody else; we like it. Keep on talking about all them other quarterbacks; we like it. We're going to just sneak in. We like it."
What Penn probably likes the most though? Flying out of Florida, back to Oakland, with not only a 6-2 record, but with a touchdown reception against his former team to boot.
"It feels good," Penn said when asked about being 6-2. "I'm not going to lie to you. It feels real good."
