Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans 2022 Week 7: Studs and Duds

Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans 2022 Week 7: Studs and Duds

Stud – Derek Carr and his weapons

After an early scare in the first drive and some miscues in the first quarter, Derek Carr got back to his usual efficient self against an average Houston Texans defense and came up with some big plays. Carr finished the day 21-27 for 241 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers though he did nearly fumble away the snap on an innocuous-looking play.

Carr distributed the ball to six different receivers but leaned primarily on his big target Davante Adams who had double the targets of any other player on the Raiders’ offense. The Texans are particularly weak against the run so Carr and Josh McDaniels were more than happy to turn and hand the ball off to Josh Jacobs 20 times but Carr made big plays when called upon.

His sole touchdown of the game came on an absolute strike to Mack Hollins at the end of the first half where he stepped up in the pocket to avoid some outside pressure and threw a rope to his big receiver between two defenders. It was a great catch by Hollins who deserves a ton of credit for making contested catches all year long but the throw from Carr was great as well.

Carr made a few other noteworthy plays where he extended plays by stepping up in the pocket or rolling out to avoid pressure and was able to connect with Foster Moreau and Hunter Renfrow just like old times. His numbers would likely have looked better had the game been more competitive at the end but I’m sure he didn’t mind not having to do anything for the last 7 minutes of the game as the defense took over with a pick 6 and a turnover on downs.