Rae Was Raiders' Insurance Policy in 1976-77

Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, a strong runner, came off the bench several times this season to replace starter Derek Carr and give the Las Vegas Raiders a different look for defenses, and it paid off at times.

However, the biggest contribution Mariota gave to the Raiders was being someone who could step in for Carr had he been injured, having started for the Tennessee Titans from 2016-19 before coming to Las Vegas.

The Oakland Raiders found out how valuable a backup quarterback could be when Kenny “Snake” Stabler was out because of a knee injury and rookie Mike Rae stepped in for a game against the Houston Oilers in 1976, with Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff also hurt and out of action.

Rae was not spectacular, but he did just as needed, completing 13-of-22 passes for 170 yards and touchdowns of nine and 33 yards to wide receiver Cliff Branch in a 14-13 victory over the Houston Oilers at the Houston Astrodome that gave the Raiders a 3-0 record.

That kept the Raiders going in a season in which they won their last 13 games on their way to winning the American Football Conference Championship and defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI, when Rae got to play in the final minutes.

“Their names were Stabler, (George) Blanda and (Daryle) Lamonica,” Rae, who was only about fifth-string a few weeks earlier, said of the great Raiders quarterbacks who came before him, he and talked about what Coach John Madden told him before the game.

“‘You’re my starting quarterback (Madden said). Snake is hurt. It’s all on you. Don’t choke.’”

Rae didn’t.

The Raiders drafted the 6-foot, 170-pound Rae in the eighth round (No. 205 overall) out of USC in 1973 after he passed for 244 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Lynn Swann that opened the scoring in a 42-17 rout of Ohio State that gave the Trojans a national championship.

Rae played only two seasons for the Raiders but was 3-0 as a starter.

When the Raiders wanted to rest Stabler in the last game of the regular season with the AFC West title clinched on the way to the Super Bowl in the last game of that 1976 season, Rae completed 13-of-22 passes for 143 yards and touchdowns to Branch, tight end Dave Casper and wide receiver Morris Bradshaw while running four times for 19 yards in a 24-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

The following season, Rae again did mop-up duty in the final game of the regular season heading into the playoffs and completed 10-of-16 passes for 117 yards and a four-yard touchdown to running back Carl Garrett and rushed six times for 51 yards in a 21-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stabler often stood in the pocket for extra seconds waiting for a play to develop and took some vicious hits that would shake him up, but Rae could come in for a few plays to keep the offense moving until Snake was ready to return.

Rae completed 50-of-95 passes for 579 yards and seven touchdowns in only two years for the Raiders, but he knew there was no future sitting behind Stabler so he left after two seasons and finished his career with ith the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins—but never became a full-time starter.

But he was there when the Raiders needed him in 1976 and that’s all you can ask of a backup.

The Raiders later had a great reserve quarterback, Jim Plunkett, who wasn’t the starter at the start of the 1980 and 1983 seasons but led the Silver and Black to victories in Super Bowls XV XVIII.

But that’s another story.

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