Derek Carr silenced his critics in this game by setting the NFL record for completion percentage. Here is the grade for Carr, and the rest of the offense.
The Raiders offense, namely Derek Carr, received a lot of slack for their second half collapse against the Los Angeles Rams. Throughout the entire week, Carr’s name had been dragged through the mud over one half of poor play. Those critics clearly neglect the fact that he’s under a new system again or as if he didn’t face arguably the best defense in the league.
Whether Carr and the offense heard those critics or not, they surely gave them very little to talk about in their performance against the Broncos.
Even though they lost 19-20, the offense played exceptionally well. Now I know some will say that they had second half woes once again. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. On paper, it looks like they took a dive, but they overall played top tier. Sure, they only scored seven points, but that’s because the Broncos offense was milking the clock. They didn’t get as many chances as they did in the first half.
Before I start with Carr and company, Jon Gruden deserves a lot of credit for the offense rebounding in this game. Carr left a lot of production on the field last week. He hardly looked at or gave his receivers a chance, especially when going deep.
Gruden was certainly going to be in his ear during the week of practice to make it clear to him that his receivers are there. He just needs to trust them and trust his protection.
The game plan that was implemented to knock back the Broncos defense was brilliant. It was a well balanced attack that put the offense in a groove for almost the whole game. The only knock I have on Gruden is that he went a bit conservative at times. However, by no means does this loss fall on him. The plays that failed was just a lack of execution.
That falls on the players. Fullback Keith Smith had a chance to sustain a drive for the offense early in the fourth quarter on fourth and inches. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to reel in the pass and that drove the Raiders chances of a win even further.
Raiders QB Derek Carr became the first player in NFL history to complete at least 90% of his passes in a game in which he had 30+ attempts. He was 29-of-32 today (90.6%).
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 17, 2018
That was just one of the plays that highlighted the team’s loss. It’s a shame too considering Derek Carr’s record setting performance deserved a win. This is the Carr we all know and love from 2016. The man was on a mission! Dart after dart. It was comforting to see Carr deliver, especially to Amari Cooper who caught all 10 of his targets.
These two haven’t connected this well in a game since the Thursday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs on October 19th. Those two need to hook up in mass this season if this offense is to see it’s full potential. Cooper reminded us just how disrespectful of a route runner he is. The Broncos threw all kinds of looks at him. They just couldn’t slow him down. Also notice that Cooper is actually getting looks in the slot.
Something that was hugely neglected last season, despite how lethal he is from it.
One of the reasons why the AC/DC connection was working was because of the protection Carr received. There was some pressure and Carr even delivered a pass on occasion when in the face of it. But overall, the offensive line was solid in pass protection but not as solid as they were on the ground game. They created so many holes for Marshawn Lynch to run through. The successful running attack is what allowed the use of play action to be so effective.
You know, play action? That thing the Raiders hardly used last season and last week? It’s a crazy concept. The Broncos defense was biting so hard on those play fakes. It gave Carr multiple open looks for his receivers.
This game was easy for Derek Carr. Once again, give credit to Jon Gruden for this game plan. It clearly worked to everyone’ strength, hence Carr’s record setting performance. The most overlooked aspect of this performance is that Derek Carr and Amari Cooper have always played horrible in Denver. Look at the magnificent performance they put on display Sunday.
Gruden definitely helped them get over that hump. The offense this year is going to be so fun to watch unlike last season. Aside from a few miscues on execution, Sunday’s performance was just a little taste of how good they can be. With all this said, the Oakland Raiders offensive grade is as follows.