Derek Carr, Henry Ruggs shocked by Gregg Williams’ all-out blitz

Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but Derek Carr is still feeling “thankful” because of Gregg Williams.

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Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but Derek Carr is still feeling “thankful” because of Gregg Williams.

Carr and the Raiders were the benefactors of a head-scratching play call courtesy of the Jets defensive coordinator on Sunday. With New York just 13 seconds away from its first win of the season, Williams dialed up an all-out blitz against Carr. With no help over the top, undrafted CB Lamar Jackson found himself on an island with fellow rookie Henry Ruggs III. The speedy wide receiver left Jackson in his dust, snatched a game-winning touchdown and stole New York’s best shot at a win all season.

The play was the only one this NFL season in which more than eight pass rushers blitzed in the final 30 seconds of a game, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

After the game, Carr couldn’t help but admit how surprised he was at Williams’ call.

“I couldn’t believe they all-out blitzed us,” the Raiders QB said, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.

Ruggs III said much of the same, adding, “I was kind of surprised they brought the house like that and not drop everyone back,” per The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones.

Yeah, so were Williams’ players and fellow coaches. Adam Gase struggled to explain the decision, while Marcus Maye was openly and repeatedly critical of Williams’ last stand.

“We have to execute, but you have to help us out at the same time,” Maye said, per The Athletic’s Connor Hughes.

 

Jackson, whose other difficult assignments have included covering DeAndre Hopkins this year, handled the game-losing play rather well. Speaking to reporters rather than ducking them, he only focused on his own execution.

“All I was thinking was don’t get beat,” Jackson said, per NorthJersey.com’s Andy Vasquez. “I don’t want to be the reason. But I was. I got beat. I’ll get better.”

Williams did not speak after the loss, though that’s not something coordinators typically do.