Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs: 3 things we learned in Week 13

Carr must take (some of) the blame

It is easy to place the blame on a sole individual, and after Sunday’s 40-9 loss that blame was easily directed towards Derek Carr. Carr finished with 222 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions, granted that touchdown was a garbage time score to at least save some face in the blowout. But Carr threw a pick-six and struggled once again at Arrowhead, in the cold weather.

Sunday’s loss added more fuel to the fire as to whether he’s the long term solution under center. Yet, football is a team game, and there are others who must be held accountable for Sunday’s performance (more on that later). Still, when the Raiders win the rushing battle 122 to 96, with Josh Jacobs rushing for over 100 yards by himself, the passing game has to hold up for a balanced offensive attack.

Carr throwing an interception on the first offensive possession is unacceptable for this Raiders team with a small margin for error. And his second interception that was returned for a touchdown flipped the score 21-0 and the momentum in Kansas City’s favor for the rest of the game.

The offense as a whole lacked execution, but in year six, Carr’s mistakes cannot simply go unwarranted. The blame must go around, and it falls on Carr as well.