Nobody likes to be critical of themselves, but that comes with the territory of being a franchise quarterback in the NFL. As the face of an organization with more responsibility for the performance of the offense than anyone else in the building, it falls on the quarterback to take credit in wins and face criticism in losses.
So it’s concerning to see Derek Carr dodge the issue when discussing his worst play against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The New Orleans Saints quarterback threw an interception to Falcons safety Jessie Bates III in the red zone that Bates returned 92 yards for a defensive score, giving Atlanta an early lead which they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the afternoon.
And rather than accept any accountability for making a bad decision and putting the ball in harm’s way, all Carr had to share after the game was praise for his opponent.
“He was playing single high and he left his responsibility. You don’t expect him to do that,” Carr said. “You don’t plan on that, for that route. I thought (Rashid) Shaheed made a good decision. But Bates is a good player and he made a great play. Very few times have I told someone good job on a bad play, but that was one where I told him, ‘You beat me. You made a great play.’ It is what it is. It sucks to have that happen. But same thing, (passing game coordinator Ronald Curry) on the sideline, he says ‘Bro made a great play. Keep playing, you’re playing great, get going.'”
Carr has not met the expectations the Saints set for him. He’s making mistakes that you’d expect from a rookie quarterback, not someone in his 154th start in the NFL. He isn’t playing like the NFL’s 13th highest-paid quarterback (which he is). He threw more touchdown passes to Falcons players than his Saints teammates in Atlanta on Sunday.
On this play, Carr took the snap out of the shotgun and dropped back to pass, locking onto Shaheed right away and throwing the ball a little behind him. Bates correctly read Carr’s intentions and jumped the route for an easy catch with 92 yards of open field ahead of him. It was a great play that showed the safety’s high football IQ, but that’s not the story here. Carr failed to progress through the coverage and find his receivers. Chris Olave had a step on A.J. Terrell in the end zone over the middle of the field. Keith Kirkwood was open running against Dee Alford at the top of the formation. Carr had options.
Maybe a designed pass to Shaheed on a Texas route, sending him to the end zone, was the point of the play. When given an opportunity to explain himself and what the idea was, and most importantly, where he went wrong, Carr instead chose to deflect criticism away and talk up his opponent for getting the better of him. There’s nothing wrong with offering a hat-tip to someone in that situation. But Carr’s reluctance to own up to his mistake on a game-changing play is telling. He’s got to play better than this, and if he isn’t willing to admit as much publicly, it’s worth wondering whether he’s being told that privately.
Yes, the Jessie Bates III pick-six was just as insane as you thought it was. Pure Ed Reed/Earl Thomas stuff, crashing down from center field to take away the Texas route. pic.twitter.com/DioS5vqNd1
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 27, 2023
