Derek Carr is back in the NFL MVP conversation, but it isn’t because he’s the top rated quarterback in the NFL.
He isn’t even close.
Carr’s 101.2 rating is 11th-best in the NFL, but anyone who has watched the Raiders this year knows Carr has been arguably the best QB in the league in pressure situations.
As it turns out, no quarterback has been better than Carr in the second half of games this year. His 91.4 Pro Football Focus grade in the second half of games is higher than every other QB in the league.
Even beyond his play on the field, there hasn’t been a more valuable employee in the Raiders’ building this year than Carr. He has been the unflappable leader of an organization that has experienced unprecedented dysfunction and tragedy since the start of the season.
All the while, the Raiders are 5-2 and playing their best football of the year.
The Raiders would be curled up in a Vegas gutter in 2021 if not for Carr. Instead, the wins are piling up and the team is somehow having its best year on the field since 2016. If they manage to reach the playoffs this year, just throw away the stat sheets and announce Carr as the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Maybe go ahead and name him team president, head coach, and every other respected job title in the Raiders’ building, too…
twitter: @raidersbeat
In today’s game against the Giants, the 23 year old tightend, Foster Moreau, had zero targets and Zay Jones was targeted once. Whether it’s the play caller, Greg Olsen, or quarterback, Derek Carr, the ball distribution stinks!!! The defense played well enough to win the game but the offense did not!!! Today’s game WAS NOT a reflection of what this article alludes to. AND, Marcus Mariota NEEDS more than ONE PLAY per game, if for no other reason than just to shake off the rust and feel some game situations, for the Raiders’ sake. I just hope that somebody reads this and is listening.
Carr was not at the game he was somewhere else.. the couch should have put Marcus in.