Oakland Raiders @ Broncos Preview: 3 Key Questions

How will Derek Carr bounce back?

Oct 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the Denver Broncos at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Derek Carr played terrific through three quarters last week against the Chiefs, and then things fell apart in the 4th.

Oakland had a 20-14 lead with about 12 minutes remaining in the game when Carr threw his first interception of the game. He threw two more interceptions before the game was over, including one that was returned for a touchdown by former Raider Tyvon Branch.

Before Sunday’s ugly game, Carr had the third best TD/INT ratio in the league, trailing only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. There have been enough quality weeks with Carr to say that last week’s performance should just be an outlier.

One of the many traits that are important when critiquing a QB are his ability to deal with adversity and bounce back after rough performances.

All QB’s will have terrible games eventually, and Carr has had several in his young career. But this will be his first time trying to bounce back from a bad game with an important game immediately following. This is meaningful December football game on the road against a divisional rival.

In the first game, Carr completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) for 249 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. The interception was the one on the first slide that cost Oakland the game.

Denver has far and away the best pass defense in the NFL. They allowed only 295 passing yards per game, which is 15 less than the next closest. They also have only allowed one WR to score a TD all season.

They had the best pass defense in the first game, and Carr still played very well. With film on the secondary, let’s see if Carr can look at that and see what worked well and what didn’t, and if he can put together a quality performance.