There were several players from Monday night that deserve game-balls for their performances against the Saints. But one player that seemingly isn’t getting enough credit is quarterback Derek Carr.
While there weren’t a ton of “splash” plays from Carr, he didn’t make many mistakes. Sure, there were a few sacks that he took that he probably shouldn’t have and there were chances for him to throw down the field more often. But Carr protected the ball and completed a high percentage of his passes.
Take a look at Carr’s passing chart from Week 2 (via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats) and you will notice that he completed 23 of 25 passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. While he could certainly stand to take a few more shots down the field, his ability to win at such a high rate in the short to intermediate portions of the field helped the Raiders score 34 points against one of the league’s best defenses.
Here is #Raiders QB Derek Carr's passing chart from Week 2: pic.twitter.com/kYOddw4RNr
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) September 22, 2020
Jon Gruden and the rest of the Raiders’ coaching staff have no problem with Carr playing this brand of football. He gets the ball to his playmakers and keeps them ahead of the chains. On Monday night, he played fantastic and constantly made the right plays to keep drives alive.
Through two games, Carr has thrown for 521 yards and four touchdowns while completing 73.5 percent of his passes. The Raiders couldn’t have asked for a better start from their franchise quarterback.
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