Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 17 review: Studs and Duds

Raiders QB Derek Carr: Stud

This was not Derek Carr’s best performance of the season, but he came through when his team needed him the most. Carr finished the day with 371 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, both of which could be attributed to his own mistakes, even though one deflected off the hands of Darren Waller.

The two picks aside, Carr was excellent against a solid Denver defense and lead two touchdown drives when the Raiders were down 24-17 and the game-winning drive when they were down 24-31. The Raiders’ defense was not at its best, just like the rest of the season, but Carr and the offense were able to pull the team from the brink once again.

On the Raiders’ game-winning drive, Carr took them 76 yards down the field on just 6 plays before handing off to Josh Jacobs to punch in the touchdown. Carr then delivered a strike to Darren Waller to take the lead in a play that was also very similar to the failed conversion attempt from 2019.

Despite the mistakes in this game, it was clear that Carr has a mastery of this offense and is the Raiders franchise quarterback no matter what his many haters say. He now has 4,000 yards for the third straight season and has increased his touchdown total every year under Jon Gruden, topping out at 27 this year with just nine interceptions.

Give this man a competent defense like the Raiders did in 2016 and he will lead this team back to the playoffs just like he did 4 years ago.