The Raiders' season was placed on life support Sunday due to their 2-2 record in the top-heavy AFC West and quarterback Derek Carr's back injury, which was expected keep him out a minimum of two weeks. But five days after hitting rock bottom, things are beginning to look up for the Raiders.

Carr returned to practice Thursday, and Friday, ESPN's Stephania Bell reported that Carr could play as early as next week against the Chargers. 

Carr is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens. So, there's even a chance he could return without missing a single game, which would be incredible.

Carr suffered the injury -- a transverse process fracture in his back -- during the Raiders' loss to the Broncos on Sunday. After the game, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said that Carr could miss anywhere between 2-6 weeks. But on Thursday, Carr practiced on a limited basis and was spotted throwing passes.

He practiced again on Friday.

According to the Mercury News, Raiders left tackle Donald Penn said on Thursday that Carr was "way ahead of schedule." ESPN's report seems to confirm Penn's assessment of the situation. 

Here's the Raiders' upcoming schedule:

  • Week 5 vs. Ravens
  • Week 6 vs. Chargers
  • Week 7 vs. Chiefs on "Thursday Night Football"
  • Week 8 at Bills
  • Week 9 at Dolphins 
  • Week 10 bye

Without Carr, the Raiders will struggle to win any games, but it's probably imperative that they get him back before their Week 7 contest with the Chiefs. The Raiders can't afford to fall any further behind the Chiefs and Broncos in the AFC West. The Chiefs are still unbeaten and the Broncos are 3-1.

In the meantime, EJ Manuel will take over for Carr, which means a football game featuring Manuel and Joe Flacco could take place on Sunday. Hopefully -- for the sake of everyone who's forced to watch -- their offensive game plan will feature plenty of Beast Mode to compensate for Carr's absence.