Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is once again having a statistically solid season. Good numbers aside, he has yet to vanquish his demons at Arrowhead Stadium.
Many great quarterbacks have ghosts they have to get over in order to achieve next-level success, this is nothing new. Peyton Manning was told he couldn’t beat the New England Patriots in the postseason. The same was said about Steve Young not being able to win the “big one.” For Carr, his historically bad outings at Arrowhead continue to loom over him whether his staunchest supporters will admit it or not. Football is a team sport, yes, but the quarterback is the leader, it starts and ends with him. What is strange is the myriad of excuses that fans make for Carr, it really is unique and something we haven’t really seen in the NFL recently.
The fact that several Raiders quarterbacks have been able to pull off victories and Carr can’t is worrisome. Will he be able to do it this Sunday finally? JaMarcus Russell, Carson Palmer, and Daunte Culpepper were some of the worst quarterbacks in team history and they did it. As Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News said, “Heck, even JaMarcus Russell won two starts at Arrowhead, albeit in games when he didn’t play very well and the Chiefs were not very good.”
Obviously, there are exceptions when it comes to the records but at the end of the day, a win is a win.
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Carr and the Raiders recognize how important this game is…
#Raiders QB Derek says that going into Arrowhead is not easy, it’s a tough environment and a tough team. They will need everyone and when they have all of their players back, things will open on offense. He says the team now has 5 or 6 receivers that can play and start.
— Carlos Sánchez (@HaeruHariken) October 7, 2020
Say what you will about Carr but he recognizes that his shortcomings at Arrowhead are a real thing. He even went as far as to dismiss the notion that Raiders-Chiefs is a rivalry right now. An important side note, Carr did point, and rightfully so, that the team is short-handed in the receiver department. Is it an excuse? We will have to wait and see how the game plays out.
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*Top Photo: Ben Margot/Associated Press