Despite Injury, Latavius Murray Proving Himself as Raiders' Most Talented Back

Four carries.

Four carries is all it took for us to realize that Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray is by far the most talented back on the entire Silver and Black roster.

It was a rainy, muddy, sloppy night of football filled with illicit passes, strong stretches of defense and gut-wrenching drives. The Raiders' 24-20 victory over the now 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs wasn't pretty, but without the four touches Murray received, it would never have happened.

The first two scores of the game were all because of Murray. Starting at 6:33 in the first quarter, he found his way into the end zone after exploding around the edge from 11 yards out.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Even though it wasn't a run you'll remember in the coming weeks, the Raiders haven't had a back who's been able to plant his feet and kick the football outside in what feels like a decade.

On the other hand, Murray's second touchdown run already has become the defining highlight of his young career.

After being handed the ball by his quarterback, Derek Carr, Murray found a cutback lane and burst through the second level of the Chiefs defense.

With just one defender to beat, he turned on the jets and carried the rock 90 yards in the pouring rain for not only the longest touchdown of the Raiders' season, but as the team's official Twitter feed broadcast out to the world, it was also "the longest offensive play" by any team in 2014:

The beauty of that run was how simple it was. This wasn't a fancy play call dialed up by offensive coordinator Greg Olson. As Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen tweeted, this was nothing more than a simple counterplay:

Murray's two touchdown runs gave this fanbase and coaching staff a renewed sense of hope, even after they suffered 10 consecutive losses to open up the season.

On his fourth carry, all of those jars of sunshine and hope hit a snag.

Moving his way through the Chiefs' defensive front, Murray was smashed by a slew of oncoming Kansas City defenders, which in turn jarred the football loose.

You could tell right away that he wasn't himself. The hit was brutal. The crack of the helmet could be heard echoing through the television.

After leaving the field, the good people over at Rotoworld let us know Murray wouldn't be making a valiant return because of a concussion:

Four carries, 112 yards rushing and two touchdowns: The sample size may have been minuscule, but those numbers have now cemented Murray as the go-to running back for the Raiders.

We saw it Thursday night. The second-year man who spent the entire 2013 season on injured reserve has all of the tools you'd want in a starting tailback.

At 6'3", he's a physical freak. Combine that size with the fact that he ran a 4.38-yard 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2013, and what you have is a promising young football player the Raiders can build their backfield around.

Murray's name isn't well known outside of those who worship the Silver and Black. He was a former sixth-round draft pick who spent his Van Wilder days at the University of Central Florida. For those people now running with open arms to their fantasy football waiver wires, here's a few facts you should know about the 23-year-old:

Leaving the comforts of Central Florida, he had 453 carries to his name for 2,424 yards and 37 touchdowns. Those numbers are great and all, but the real diamond in the rough was the fact that he never fumbled the football.

No, really. He never coughed the football up while wearing a UCF uniform.

The NFL is all about protecting the pigskin. You have to learn the art of carrying the rock if you want to survive in this league. Murray's track record in that department is super clean.

You would think with all of that size, speed and the fact he never lets the football go, Murray would have gone a lot higher in the draft. But even with those assets, sites like WalterFootball.com had him ranked as the No. 14 halfback in the entire draft class.

Now, 14 carries into his NFL career, it's looking more and more like Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie landed himself quite the football player.

Despite his injury on Thursday Night Football, this guy is proving to be the most talented running back in the city of Oakland. We've seen enough out of Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew to realize their time is over.

At 1-10, it's time to cut ties with the past and focus on the future. That future starts by unleashing a steady dose of Latavius Murray for the rest of the year.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.