The Raiders entered Sunday holding first position in the AFC playoff race, looking to clinch their first winning record since 2002. A magical season built on a precocious roster continued in a first-half demolition of the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers. And then, on the first drive of the second half, calamity: Quarterback Derek Carr pulled away a sliver of an instant too soon from Rodney Hudson’s snap, and the ball pushed the top half of his right pinkie finger in the wrong direction.

Just as the Raiders’ jaunt to the playoffs, and maybe even to the Super Bowl, skidded into uncertainty, the season reverted to its charmed form. Carr missed one series and then emerged from the locker room, a black glove on his right hand. On the sideline, Coach Jack del Rio did not know Carr would return until he heard the crowd roar. Carr’s temporarily uneven performance cost the Raiders the lead, and then he somehow led them back with four and a half fingers and untold guts.

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The Raiders’ extravaganza of a 35-32 victory over the Panthers lifted them to 9-2, perpetuated the best story in the NFL and guaranteed they would remain in first place in the AFC West. They just may not have long to celebrate.

The Raiders must now determine how effective Carr, an MVP candidate, can be throughout the remainder of the season. They must also weigh the benefits of playing him in a potentially diminished state against resting him while hoping backup Matt McGloin can usher the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since they lost the Super Bowl in 2003.

Del Rio said X-rays on Carr’s pinkie came back negative, but Carr had clearly suffered some kind of injury. He told CBS afterward that he had never been in more pain. The full extent of Carr’s injury may not yet be known. A quarterback can play with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand. It just may not be advisable. It can lead to poor performance, or even, in some cases, further injury. Carr’s afternoon, as fearless and brilliant as he was in the end, showed the potential for inconsistency.

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In the first half, Carr completed 15 of 20 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, a continuation of the season that placed him in the thick of the MVP race. He mishandled a snap, then backed away from the resultant fumble, the little finger on his throwing hand bent at an unnatural angle. He jogged to the sideline and trotted into the locker room. Doctors performed X-rays, Del Rio said, and they returned negative.

After he returned, Carr completed 3 of his first 7 passes in drives that ended with an interception and a three-and-out, which allowed Carolina to storm back with 25 straight points.

As fast as the Raiders had melted down, Carr recovered. On the next drive, he nailed five of six passes for 47 yards and rifled a 12-yard touchdown to tight end Clive Walford, then added a two-point conversion pass to tie it at 32.

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In the fourth quarter, the score still tied, the Raiders faced third and nine deep in their own territory. Carr dropped back and fired a 49-yard bomb down the middle of the field to Michael Crabtree. Carr hit Crabtree again with a pass down the left sideline. A few plays later, Sebastian Janikowski delivered a chip-shot game-winner.

Despite Carr’s heroics in the immediate aftermath of his injury, the Raiders may face a decision. Precedent — and logic — suggests quarterbacks can struggle trying to play with a broken pinkie finger.

In 2008, Tony Romo posted a 103.5 passer rating with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions through six weeks, at which point he broke his right pinkie. He rested for three weeks, but when he returned he punched up an 81.7 rating with 12 touchdowns and nine picks over seven games.

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Further back, Roger Staubach played through a broken pinkie in 1976. After the best start of his career, his performance cratered. He altered his throwing motion to compensate for the pinkie, and “my arm got sore all the way to my shoulder,” Staubach told the Dallas Morning News in 2008.

“Toward the end of the year, I couldn’t throw in practice for a number of days,” Staubach said then. “You’re throwing it differently, and you’re using different muscles. Unfortunately it’s an injury you can play with, but you shouldn’t play.”