During Week 8 of the NFL season, the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints will square off for the fifteenth time ever. Carr and Dalton will be the quarterbacks battling it out. After this Sunday, someone will have a blemish on their pristine record because Carr is 2-0 versus the Saints and Dalton is 3-0 against the Raiders. Let’s see how these signal-callers contrast with one another.
Raiders vs. Saints: Statistically, Carr triumphs over Dalton, but it’s closer than you think.
Carr is historically, without a doubt, one of the best Raiders quarterbacks ever, which enhances his stats in contrast to Dalton. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to find out that Carr has thrown for more yards than Dalton. The quarterback position is highly stable from Carr’s end. On the other hand, Dalton’s case is hurt by the fact that Jameis Winston was the starting quarterback when the season started.
However, in other statistical categories, Dalton and Carr are comparable, at least this season. Both quarterbacks have around the same yards per attempt and a similar passing rating. Dalton has five turnovers, compared to four for Carr. Men lie, women lie, but stats don’t. In all significant statistical categories, Carr beats Dalton, but there is additional context that should be mentioned. Carr has had greater tools at his disposal: a full offseason and six games to hone his team’s chemistry. On the other hand, Winston’s injury forced Dalton into a starting role. Statistically, Carr is superior, but leaving that aside, let’s talk about the eye test.
The Eye Test puts this comparison to silence.
Both Dalton and Carr have losing records this season and have similar stats, but Carr is easily the better quarterback. Raiders fans love to troll Carr, but the Raiders would be expeditiously worse if Dalton was at the helm.
Even though Carr can be very conservative when it comes to using his big arm, it is much better than Dalton’s. Carr is a much better playmaker, as he has used his legs to prolong plays, while it is rare for Dalton to use his legs to extend plays. One thing I will give Dalton is that his accuracy seems on par with Carr’s. Again, we’re talking in terms of this current season. Just looking at their completion percentages, they’re nearly identical: Carr (63.5) and Dalton (63.4).
Although it’s obvious that Carr is the superior quarterback, Dalton isn’t a slouch either, particularly when facing the Raiders defense. For Sunday, it appears that Carr will have the majority of his offensive weapons, while Dalton is on the other side of the equation. Carr has no excuse not to outperform Dalton because he has better weapons and is a better quarterback. Let’s face it, in terms of Raiders vs. Saints, the quarterback duel shouldn’t be all that close.
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*Top Photo: Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
