If anything positive has come out of this miserable season for the Oakland Raiders, it's that some young players are emerging.

That’s been an issue in recent seasons for a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since 2002. But as the Raiders are likely preparing for another leadership change, the team can hang its hat on having an intriguing trio of key, young players.

Quarterback Derek Carr, linebacker Khalil Mack and running back Latavius Murray keyed Oakland’s 26-24 win over Buffalo and knocked the Bills out of playoff contention. Oakland is now 3-12 and has won its final three home games of the season.

The strong finish is fantastic advertising for Oakland owner Mark Davis as he tries to attract a big-name coach. Of course, Davis' first target is expected to be San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh. He is expected to leave the 49ers after the season ends.

Harbaugh and any other candidates will surely like the makings of this roster, which is also going to have a top draft pick. Any team with hope at quarterback, running back and outside linebacker is a team that has something to work with.

All three players made their presence felt Sunday in the win over Buffalo.

Carr overcame a shaky start to lead a game-sealing touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Carr, who had two touchdown passes, has 20 for the season to go with 3,112 yards. He joins Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III as rookies who threw for 3,000 yards and 20 touchdown passes.

Think Harbaugh isn’t intrigued by the idea of working with Carr? Nothing can kick-start a franchise like a young stud quarterback. It makes everything better. And Oakland’s hope doesn’t stop with Carr.

Murray continued to show he has a chance to be a workhorse tailback. A sixth round pick in 2013 who missed his rookie season, Murray had 86 yards on 23 carries on Sunday. He had explosive runs of 25 and 17 yards. Murray, who is 6-foot-3, 228 pounds, looks to have a future because he runs hard and with a purpose. Oakland started to give him a chance in November, and he has responded with consistency.

Although the Oakland offense has a nice head start with Carr and Murray, Mack is doing his part to push the defense into the future. In fact, Mack is the best of the three at this point. The No. 5 overall pick had one of his best games of the season Sunday.

Mack had five tackles, his fourth sack and three quarterback hurries. He has gotten better as the season has gone on. There has been no rookie wall for this complete player.

He affects every aspect of the game. Along with St. Louis’ Aaron Donald and Baltimore’s CJ Mosley, Mack is a prime candidate for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He is the type of cornerstone player a good defense can be built around.

That’s what Sunday was all about for the Raiders. The future might not be so bleak.