Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) passes under pressure from New Orleans Saints cornerback P.J. Williams (26) in the second half of the Raiders’ first home game at Allegiant Stadium Monday, Sept. 21, 2020.
Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Derek Carr got most of the credit for Las Vegas’ upset win over New Orleans on Monday night, as he completed 73.7 percent of his passes and tossed three touchdowns. If the Raiders have intentions of improving to 3-0 with a victory over the Patriots this week, Carr will have to be even better.
The Raiders racked up a time-of-possession advantage of 36:18 to 23:42 against New Orleans, and Carr’s pinpoint accuracy was the biggest factor in the offense scoring 34 points for the second straight week. He distributed the ball to 12 different receivers, and when the stakes were highest — on third downs — he kept the chains moving at a near-automatic rate.
The Raiders called 12 pass plays on third down against New Orleans, and Carr converted nine of them.
The first opportunity was a 3rd-and-23 in the first quarter, and the Raiders punted after Carr completed a 9-yard check-down pass. Las Vegas’ ensuing drive ended when Carr took a sack on 3rd-and-15. After that, the team converted nine of 10 third downs via the passing game.
And Carr did it his way, too.
Earlier in the week, Carr defended his affinity for throwing short, pointing to Drew Brees and the Saints as a model for building a productive passing game around accuracy in the short and intermediate areas of the field. On Monday, Carr proved he could make it work.
Two of the team’s nine third-down conversions came via pass-interference penalties. Of the seven completed passes, six were thrown short of the first-down marker, as Carr relied heavily on his receivers’ ability to pick up yards after the catch in order to move the chains.
The team’s first conversion was a check-down to tight end Darren Waller on 3rd-and-1. Waller broke a tackle and ended up gaining nine yards on the play:
After that conversion, the Raiders went on to finish the drive with a touchdown to pull within 10-7.
On Las Vegas’ next possession, Carr’s ball placement was perfect on a 3rd-and-5 throw to Nelson Agholor, allowing the receiver to stop and cut inside his defender to pick up the first down via YAC:
Later in that same drive, Carr again fired a perfect pass to rookie Bryan Edwards on a 3rd-and-10 stop route; Edwards snagged the ball well short of the first down but was able to break free of his defender and pick up 20 yards:
Carr finished off that drive with another third-down conversion, finally throwing past the sticks to hit Zay Jones on an out-breaking route for a 15-yard touchdown.
Again, the ball placement could not have been better:
The Raiders were nursing a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter and facing a critical 3rd-and-9 situation when Carr’s accuracy shone through again.
Slot receiver Hunter Renfrow snapped off a slant route and Carr hit him in stride, allowing him to turn upfield for a 17-yard gain and a new set of downs:
Four plays later, Jalen Richard ran for a touchdown to give Las Vegas a 14-point lead with less than eight minutes to play.
Taken in whole, it was one of Carr’s better performances. Now the question is, was that a sign of the seventh-year quarterback owning the offense in a way that can be replicated on a weekly basis? He’ll be put to the test on Sunday by a New England defense that features the best secondary in the league.
The Patriots have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Stephon Gilmore, and fellow corner J.C. Jackson allowed a passer rating of 34.1 last season. Jason McCourty wasn’t far behind (54.7 rating). It’s a group that should be able to stick much closer to the Raiders’ underneath receivers than what Carr saw from New Orleans on Monday.
Throwing short can keep the chains moving, but Carr’s accuracy will have to be even more on-point than his near-flawless performance in Week 2.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
