Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr’s 2018 season using advanced stats
By Sanjit T.
Under Pressure/Clean Pocket
One of the ways a defense helps win the game for their team is by putting pressure on the opposing quarterback. Just look at what the New England Patriots did to Phillip Rivers, Patrick Mahomes, and Jared Goff during the playoffs. Generating pressure in the playoffs was paramount for their success, and if you look at total pressure generated, five of the top six players in the playoffs were from New England.
An offense, on the other hand, can have the most success by stopping that pressure and keeping your quarterback clean. When under pressure, Carr threw a total of 8 interceptions and only four touchdowns. These numbers were horrendous, his interceptions were the most by any quarterback while being pressured.
On the other hand, when not pressured, but instead kept in a clean pocket, Carr threw 15 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. This puts him in the top-5 for TD to INT ratio.
One thing our offensive line must do is keep Carr clean. Evident from his stats, Carr plays a lot better when not pressured. Our offensive line struggled last year, and unless we fix those issues, we will continue to struggle. Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker must step it up, as this offensive line allowed 51 total sacks, which is just too much.