In week six of the NFL season Jason Campbell, quarterback of the Raiders, went down with a season ending injury. In response Oakland traded a first round and a conditional second round pick to Cincinnati to get Carson Palmer. It sounded like a heavy price to get a quarterback that hadn’t even practiced since last year.
The next week Palmer had three interceptions in his first game against the Chiefs. Carson said that he wasn’t even supposed to play in that game but due to Kyle Boller’s turnovers Hue Jackson threw him in there to see what he could do. They had a bye the next week and then Palmer returned but still looked bad with three interceptions and another loss against a division rival.
The next three games Palmer threw three touchdowns with two interceptions but it didn’t matter because they won those games. That was a key stretch because it kept them in a one game lead over the Denver Broncos for the division. Things looked good until Oakland went to Miami. They were supposed to beat them they loss 34-14, a real blowout. Palmer had only one turnover but Oakland couldn’t convert third downs and Miami took advantage.
Now the Broncos are tied for the lead in the division with the Raiders. They do have four games left but they’ll only be a guaranteed favorite over the Chiefs. Even after all this I still give Palmer a lot of credit. He hadn’t practiced since last year, he came into a new system, and he is giving the Raiders a chance to make the playoffs when it looked like they could end with a losing record. Not bad for a quarterback that looked to be washed up in Cincinnati.
