The Las Vegas Raiders head into Week 11 with plenty of confidence in their offense and rightfully so. This is due to quarterback Derek Carr having a lethally efficient year.
The Silver and Black will be playing against the Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs in primetime tomorrow. Unlike year’s past where the Chiefs would thoroughly dominate the Raiders, the 2020 season is proving to be different. Under head coach Jon Gruden, Carr is having one of, if not, his best years as a pro. It seems continuity and stability are finally starting to bear fruit for ‘4’ and his teammates.
Statistically and categorically, Carr’s improved and shown he is in fact, a franchise quarterback. One such stat that’s eye-opening is the fact he’s one of only four signal-callers with a grade above 80 on third downs this year per Pro Football Focus.
Derek Carr is one of only 4 QBs with a grade above 80 on 3rd downs this year 👀#RaiderNation https://t.co/Ryl8WoogXn
— PFF Las Vegas Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) November 18, 2020
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Raiders Will Go As Far As Carr Can Take Them
Overall, PFF has Carr graded at 75.3 for the season, he’s thrown 16 touchdowns but only two interceptions. What is unfortunate though is that the Raiders quarterback could have had more scoring passes by now. The issue this year has been dropped passes for his receiving corps, so far, they have ten as a unit. Those circumstances notwithstanding, Carr has put the league on notice with his stellar play.
One example is his QBR, which currently sits at 75.5, the best of his career so far. For those that don’t put weight into the QBR rating, then you should know that the signal-caller’s traditional QB rating is 107.4, another career-high. The signal-caller has also made huge strides in a category that his detractors often cite, throwaways. In 2020, ‘DC4’ has only thrown away eight passes, compared to 28 last year. Another factor that’s benefiting Carr is the running game, which has taken the pressure off of him as he no longer has to win every single game. Most of the great quarterbacks in recent years have had good running games backing them up, now Carr has one too.
On Sunday, Carr’s efficiency and accuracy will have to be near perfect if they stand to deliver another loss to the Chiefs. The quarterback has been delivering and we can all expect for him to try to have another signature game, Raider Nation will be anxiously watching.
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*Top Photo: Associated Press/Jeff Roberson