Oakland Raiders: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vs. Ravens
By Kevin Saito
The Good: Derek Carr
It’s crazy to think that not all that long ago people were still continuing to say the Raiders needed to bench Derek Carr in favor of Matt McGloin. And by not all that long ago, we mean earlier this preseason.
At this point, we’re starting to run out of superlatives to describe Carr’s play for this team. Through four games this season, Carr is completing 68 percent of his passes, has thrown for 1,066 yards, has nine touchdowns against just one interception, and has a QB rating of 104.6.
But it’s not just his stats that pop off the page. It’s the determination and grit he’s played with this year. He is helping to will his team to victory. In past seasons, we would have seen this Raiders team lose to a team like New Orleans in opening week. They would have found a way to lose to the Titans too, more than likely.
More from Las Vegas Raiders News
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- Raiders: Bryan Edwards out, Henry Ruggs doubtful for Sunday
- Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
- Raiders fall short in letdown Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots
- Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 3 at New England Patriots
But not this year. This year is – different. And Carr is a big reason for that.
If this had been two seasons ago, when Baltimore went up on the Raiders 27-21 with just over three minutes left in the game, this team may have very well folded up. How many times did we see that happen over the past decade or so?
But Carr and company got the ball back and promptly led the Raiders back down the field, firing a 23 yard strike to Michael Crabtree to put the Raiders back up 28-27.
We saw Carr make a big leap forward from year one to year two in his progression. Many wondered if we’d see the same sort of leap in year three. It seems that despite some doubters out there, Carr is indeed making the same sort of leap.
And given that his name is being whispered in the way too early MVP talks, it seems that he could be making a leap to that rarified elite level of quarterbacks in the NFL.
There’s a long way to go yet, of course. But given the early returns so far this season, you have to like how Carr is progressing.