OAKLAND -- When Derek Carr emerged last Sunday from the Oakland Coliseum tunnel for his Willis Reed moment, his dislocated right pinkie finger popped back into place, a sense of déjà vu overcome more than a few in the gathering.

That includes former Oakland Raiders right tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who now works games as the team’s radio sideline reporter.

It was in Week 9 of the 1999 season when Rich Gannon, in his first season with the Raiders, played through a similar, if not as well-known, injury that endeared the first-year Oakland quarterback to his teammates and then-coach Jon Gruden.

The Raiders, who had trailed the New York Jets, 20-3, in the third quarter, had climbed back to within 23-17 with less than two minutes remaining, and Oakland had the ball on its own 10-yard line at the Coliseum.

Thing was, Gannon, according to Kennedy, had broken a finger on his non-throwing hand earlier in the game.

“Not once did he complain or even wince,” Kennedy told me for my book ‘100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.’

“He just led us downfield. I was just thinking, ‘Show me something.’

“He showed me something on that drive.”

Gannon led the Raiders 90 yards in 11 plays, hitting James Jett for a 5-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining. Michael Husted’s extra point gave Oakland an improbable 24-23 victory.

Show Kennedy something? Gannon threw for 352 yards on 26 of 51 passing with two touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 60 yards on five carries, including a 36-yard scramble.

Carr show the Raiders something? After missing a series against the Carolina Panthers while getting his finger worked on in the locker room, Carr led Oakland on two fourth-quarter scoring drives to pull out the improbable 35-32 victory.

Listed as a full participant on the Raiders' injury report all week, Carr said there were no limitations heading into Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. He did not wear the black glove on his right hand or take snaps under center during the portion of practice open to the media this week, though.

Sure, it’s different hands, eras and situations, but how did Gannon fare the week after he led a comeback with a bum finger?

He completed just seven of 28 passes for 130 yards, no touchdowns and an interception while getting sacked five times (he left the game for a series and was replaced by Bobby Hoying after one second-quarter sack) in a 16-9 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

But three years later, Gannon was the NFL MVP and helped lead the Raiders to the Super Bowl and their most recent winning season ... until Carr and the Raiders beat the Panthers to improve to 9-2 last week.

“Gruden wanted somebody to run his system and had already clashed with Jeff George," Kennedy said at the time. “Rich seized the opportunity."

You could say the same for Carr