Raiders at Dallas Cowboys: Studs and Duds from 2021 Week 12

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 25: Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders celebrates during the third quarter of the NFL game between Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 25, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Raiders at Dallas Cowboys: Studs and Duds from 2021 Week 12

Stud: Derek Carr

For the past couple of years, since Jon Gruden made his NFL head coaching return, one of his plans was to make the Raiders a run-first team. With Josh Jacobs in the fold the last two years, it was pretty successful due to his ability to break big runs.

This year though, the run game has not been as successful due to a combination of both injuries and insufficiencies along the offensive line, and one thing is clear when Derek Carr slings the ball the Raiders win games.

So far this season, when Carr throws for over 300 yards, the Raiders are 6-0, and what happens when he doesn’t? The Raiders record is 0-5 in those games. The Raiders are far too dependent on trying to make the run game successful, even when it’s going nowhere, and if there’s anything we learned so far this year, we should be putting the ball in Derek Carr’s hands a lot more.

Las Vegas has obviously been more successful when it has been in his hands, but the Raiders could use screens and short passing game to replace what has been a struggling run game so far in 2021. Carr has been underrated his entire career, but none more than this year, as he has been a top-five quarterback all season long.

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