Las Vegas Raiders to watch in their Wild Card matchup vs Cincinnati
By Alex Perl
Las Vegas Raiders to watch in their Wild Card matchup vs Cincinnati
Derek Carr
The captain is facing the most important game of his life. Sure, he threw for a career-high in yards this year and passed Rich Gannon for the most passing yards in a Raider season, but none of that matters now in the playoffs.
One issue has been the Raider passing game as of late, and even though the Raiders were able to put up 35 points on the Chargers in Week 18, Carr was only able to muster 186 passing yards in that contest.
Carr was on pace to lead the league in passing yards for a good portion of this season, however, fast forward to post Week eight, and the quarterback has only thrown for 300 yards once.
A lot can be said for the loss of receiver Henry Ruggs, also the play-calling may have changed a bit with the loss of head coach Jon Gruden, but whatever the case, the quarterback will need to replicate his early-season form, especially considering he will be dueling with one of the top quarterbacks in football this season in Joe Burrow.
With a more balanced running game as of late, maybe Carr may be okay just passing for an average number of yards, but in an away game in Cincinnati, the Raiders defense may not be able to slow down Burrow the way they did in Vegas in Week 11.
Look for the captain to play a large role in what this Raider franchise can accomplish on Saturday. He will be by far the biggest factor in a Raider win or loss.