Buster: QB Derek Carr

Carr wouldn’t make it to the fourth quarter of this game before being pulled for Mike Glennon. Not because the Raiders thought they had any better chance in this game with Glennon, but because the score was 34-3. But just because Carr wasn’t technically benched doesn’t mean he wasn’t a big reason the Raiders were in that hole in the first place.

The first stalling of the first two drives were not his fault. Both ended with dropped passes. After that, it’s more difficult to remove Carr from blame.

The third Raiders’ possession started with Carr holding onto the ball too long, leading to a sack. Big plays from Jacobs and Waller would dig the offense out of it, but Carr would twice try to force a ball to Waller despite him being well-covered, and the Raiders would settle for a field goal. Daniel Carlson would miss the 43-yard attempt, and the Raiders were held without a score on the drive.

The Raiders would get the ball two more times before the half. Both would end with a three-and-out. The first one Carr scanned the field for a good long time, and had opportunities to tuck and run it, but instead threw to Jalen Richard for a loss of yards.

The second began with 40 seconds on the clock. A 7-yard pass to Richard meant Carr had to lose a down on a spike. Then he skipped a pass for Waller, and the threat was over.

The next time Carr came out, the Raiders were down 20-3. It was the run game that failed the team on that drive for a turnover on downs. It gave the Jets a short field, and they scored again to go up 27-3.

Technically that’s a three-score game with plenty of time to mount a comeback. In one play, that slight chance was eliminated.

Carr dropped back, stared down Tyrell Williams, who stopped a few yards off the line. Linebacker Neville Hewitt was sitting down in the box watching Carr’s eyes and Williams. Carr threw for Williams and Hewitt easily leaned over and broke up the pass. The ball popped in the air where it was intercepted by Brian Poole and returned for a touchdown.

At 34-3, Carr was given one more chance, and that failed too. He was pulled with a couple minutes left in the third quarter. He completed 15 passes on 27 attempts for 127 yards and an interception with a 52.5 passer rating.

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