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Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers: 5 things we learned

By Khaled Abdallah

Nov 8, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson (31) breaks up a pass intended for Los Angeles Chargers tight end Donald Parham (89) in the end zone on the game's final play at SoFi Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Chargers 31-26. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson (31) breaks up a pass intended for Los Angeles Chargers tight end Donald Parham (89) in the end zone on the game's final play at SoFi Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Chargers 31-26. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Raiders are getting MVP play from Carr Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Raiders are getting MVP play from Carr Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers: 5 things we learned

Derek Carr is being aggressive and we love it

Derek Carr is doing his best to shake off whatever labels or judgements that fans had of him. They said he couldn’t win at Arrowhead and he did just that. They said he can’t win in cold weather and he did just that in 35mph winds with rain, hail, and snow.

They also said he’s just a check-down artist and he’s proving he can throw the ball deep with the best of them.

Last year was Carr’s best season in terms of yards per attempt at 7.9 and set a career high in air yards per attempt with an air yards per attempt average of 8.0, beating his previous best by nearly a yard. This season he is averaging 7.8 yards per attempt and a whopping 8.7 air yards per attempt through 8 games.

If you remove the Cleveland game with its absurd winds as a clear outlier, Carr is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt and 9.0 air yards per attempt so the jump is even clearer. His total numbers put him at 12th and 7th in the NFL respectively but the adjusted numbers without the Browns game would have him at 8th and 5th in each category.

To put it simply, Carr is slinging the ball downfield more than he ever has in his career.

There were two moments where his aggression paid off handsomely with a touchdown to Nelson Agholor and a 53-yard completion to Hunter Renfrow that lead to a touchdown. When the situation is right, Carr is taking big chances downfield and is doing so while still being top five in the NFL in completion percentage.

This was precisely the QB that Gruden wanted Carr to become as he is not afraid to take the deep shots and has been making plays with his legs to extend plays and keep drives alive. His aggression has not yet hurt the team as he is 3rd in the league in interception percentage and has thrown just two interceptions in eight games.

If Carr keeps playing at this level and the Raiders keep winning he will be making his way in to the MVP conversation very soon.

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