This has certainly not been a career year for Derek Carr. He’s completing just 62 percent of his passes, with is more than a six percent dip from last season. He’s seen his passer rating, yards per attempt and overall yards per game decline dramatically this year.
So what’s been Carr’s biggest problem this year? Because at times, he’s looked really good and the offense has scored a bunch of points. So what’s the big issue?
In a recent article by Aaron Schatz of ESPN and Football Outsiders, he wrote about every team’s starting quarterback and their biggest weakness. For Carr, it was his inability to play well in the fourth quarter. Here is what Schatz had to say about Carr this season:
“Carr has struggled in the fourth quarter this season, which is one of the reasons the Raiders have blown all those big leads. He ranks 24th with a minus-22.5% passing DVOA in the fourth quarter. What’s interesting about this one is that it runs so counter to the rest of Carr’s career.
Carr has an excellent record in the fourth quarter, especially in the fourth quarter of one-score games. In 2021, he had a 32.1% DVOA in the fourth quarter of one-score games. It was 21.4% in 2020 and 38.2% in 2019.”
If Carr would have just been a little better in the fourth quarter this season, they likely have three more wins, at least. And if that’s the case, the Raiders would likely be in playoff contention once again.
Instead, they are 5-8 and need to win out and get some help in order to make it back to the tournament. The Raiders need more out of their franchise quarterback going forward.
