Before the Oakland Raiders seized, lost, and then regained the lead in dramatic fashion in their 23-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, melodrama of a different kind looked to be playing out on Oakland's sideline.
CBS cameras caught Raiders coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr engaged in multiple heated conversations over the course of the broadcast, including one that took place after Carr was penalized for attempting to call back-to-back timeouts.
According to one report, Gruden was pulled back by tight end Lee Smith during one interaction with Carr, though that was described by Smith as "all in good fun," per ESPN.com.Â
However, after the victory, both coach and player downplayed the incidents, chalking them up to competitive problem-solving.
"That's the first time you've seen it, it ain't the first time it's happened," Gruden told reporters. "We're both competitors, we're competing hard there. We had a man-to-man situation, he went for the big play, and we had a mild disagreement. But you know what? That's part of this business. We're going to have times where we clash a little bit. We're also very supportive of one another. I'm very proud of him. He's been through a lot this year, and I'm glad he's our quarterback."
"We're both yelling the same kinds of things, a 'just fix it' kind of a deal," Carr added later. "It's not the first time. I doubt it will be the last time. Everything's good, I promise."
Carr was enjoying a pedestrian afternoon before the Raiders' game-winning drive. The franchise quarterback threw two beautiful touchdown passes, but also took four sacks (two on third down) and struggled to extend drives. He finished with 192 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per attempt.
