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Derek Carr's late TD lifts Oakland Raiders over New Orleans Saints

By Les East, The Sports Xchange
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts (10) takes a Derek Carr pass in for a touchdown with under a minute left in the game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans September 11, 2016. Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI
1 of 3 | Oakland Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts (10) takes a Derek Carr pass in for a touchdown with under a minute left in the game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans September 11, 2016. Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI | License Photo

NEW ORLEANS -- Derek Carr threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts and a 2-point conversion pass to Michael Crabtree with 47 seconds left as the Oakland Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 35-34 on Sunday afternoon in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Saints had a chance to win on the final play, but Wil Lutz's 61-yard field-goal attempts was wide left.

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Carr led the Raiders to 22 fourth-quarter points, upstaging New Orleans' Drew Brees' 14th 400-yard passing game, which tied Peyton Manning for an NFL record. He completed 24 of 38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown and Brees completed 28 of 42 for 423 and four touchdowns.

The Saints extended their 17-10 halftime lead when Brees and Brandin Cooks connected on a franchise-record 98-yard touchdown pass with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

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The Raiders cut the deficit to 11 when Sebastian Janikowski made a 31-yard field goal. New Orleans missed an opportunity to negate that when Lutz, who was signed as a free agent earlier in the week, was wide left on a 50-yard field-goal attempt early in the fourth quarter.

Oakland cut the deficit to 24-19 when Jamize Olawale ran 2 yards for a touchdown but a 2-point conversion failed with 11:53 left in the game.

After Lutz made a 20-yard field goal, Jalien Richard ran 75 yards for a touchdown and Carr teamed with Amari Cooper on a 2-point conversion that tied the score at 27 with 8:42 left.

Brees responded with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Travaris Cadet that gave the Saints a 34-27 lead with 6:03 left.

The Saints' first possession was comprised of two incompletions and a Brees fumble. Bruce Irvin caused the fumble and Jihad Ward recovered the ball on the New Orleans 21.

The Raiders lost 8 yards on three plays and Janikowski kicked a 47-yard field goal.

The Saints responded with a 65-yard drive that yielded Lutz's 42-yard field goal that tied the score with 5:52 left in the first quarter.

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Oakland came right back with a 91-yard drive that ended with Latavius Murray's 6-yard touchdown run.

New Orleans tied the score at 10 when Brees threw a touchdown pass to Willie Snead on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Raiders lined up with just 10 defenders after a timeout prior to the play.

The Saints took a 17-10 halftime lead when Brees threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cooks with 4:55 left in the second quarter.

NOTES: K Sebastian Janikowski became Oakland's all-time leader in seasons of service (17), passing former WR Tim Brown. ... RB C.J. Spiller was a non-injury inactive for New Orleans. ... Jahri Evans, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, started at RG for the Saints just four days after being re-signed as a free agent. Evans was drafted by the Saints in the fourth round of the 2006 draft and played 10 seasons with them before being released in February. Seattle signed him and released him. ... New Orleans defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was Oakland's head coach from 2012-14.

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