Third down is the money down in the NFL. If you can’t find was to win on third down, it likely means that your team will struggle to be competitive. And if you are an elite quarterback, you better thrive on third down.
Luckily for the Raiders, they have one of the league’s best third-down passers. Actually, they might have the best third-down quarterback.
After four games, Derek Carr leads the NFL in both yards per attempt (12.41) and passer rating (139.4) on third down. He is one of only two quarterbacks to average over 9.75 YPA on third down, with the other one being Matthew Stafford.
Here is a breakdown of how every quarterback has performed this season third down:
Yards/Attempt on 3rd down this season: pic.twitter.com/2iAnAt6AGr
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 7, 2021
The best way to converting third downs in the NFL is to avoid them altogether. Carr needs to improve his efficiency on earlier downs, but he has been so good on third down that it hasn’t really mattered.
As long as Carr can continue to play like a superstar on third down, the Raiders will be one of the best teams in the league. And luckily for the Raiders, Carr has now shown over the past few seasons that he is hyper efficient on third down and that this season isn’t a fluke.
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