Carr goes bust in KC
Oakland Raiders fall to Kansas City Chiefs 40-9
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) sacks Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
2019.12.01 – Derek Carr went bust at Arrowhead Stadium and again the Oakland Raiders fall to Kansas City, helping to pace the Chiefs to a 40-9 rout and a two-game lead in the division.
The Chiefs harassed Carr all game long, holding him to 222 yards passing with two interceptions and a meaningless fourth-quarter touchdown. One of the picks was returned 46 yards for a touchdown.
Carr walked into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday with a chance not only to silence his ever-growing chorus of critics but also give the Raiders a piece of the AFC West lead. He walked out having failed on all accounts.
“They were running their stuff but in different ways, different scenarios,” said Carr, who is 2-10 overall against the Chiefs. “Nothing that confused us or anything like that. They did a good job, especially the two turnovers, of just making plays. Hats off to them.”
The dismal showing by Carr on a cold, blustery day dropped the 28-year-old quarterback to 0-6 in his career in Kansas City. His quarterback rating in the notoriously difficult road venue is the worst of any stadium in which he’s played multiple games, and the rest of his numbers are just as ugly: He’s completing just 57 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“I think the biggest thing is that we knew when he took big shots down the field we could understand, pre-snap, the formation to put us into position to make a play,” said Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, who had one of the interceptions. “Check-downs, to the tight ends and running backs, that’s his game. I was glad we were able to capitalize when he did try to throw downfield.”
2019.12.01 – Raiders vs Chiefs – Week 13 Highlights | NFL 2019 (Video)
2019.12.01 – Raiders vs Chiefs – Week 13 Highlights | NFL 2019 (Video)
It was the kind of performance that has pushed a large contingent of Raiders fans to question whether Carr is the right quarterback to lead the franchise as it moves to Las Vegas.
“It’s hard, because this is fresh. Especially two weeks in a row getting beat the way we got beat,” Carr said. “It’s like, ‘Come on, we’re better than that.’ It’s frustrating. It’s annoying.”
Then again, Carr was hardly the only reason the Raiders were routed on Sunday.
They fumbled a kickoff, missed a field goal and even had a blocked extra point returned for two points in the final minute. They committed seven penalties for 99 yards, including a couple of bone-headed personal fouls, and four of the flags gave Kansas City first downs.
But right or wrong, so much of a team’s success or failure falls on the shoulders of the one under center, and Carr left enough plays on the field Sunday to be ripe for criticism.
There was the sack early in the second half after Carr held the ball for what felt like an eternity. There was the fumble that Carr was fortunate to see Josh Jacobs recover. And until Oakland’s late touchdown drive, Carr had completed exactly one pass to his wide receivers.
The gusting wind was a factor, as was the cold — the wind chill was 25 degrees at kickoff, and the outcome left Carr 2-9 when the temperature is below 50 and 0-5 when it’s below 40.
“Everybody struggles to a degree in cold weather. That’s why people move south,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “I got to do a better job helping him. It starts with me and ends there. He’s a good quarterback. I think he’s got a chance to be great. It just wasn’t his day. It wasn’t our day.”
STOCK UP
RB Josh Jacobs. One of the only bright spots to another rough day was Jacobs, who had 17 carries for 104 yards to reach 1,061 yards rushing on the season. Jacobs is the fourth Raiders player to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the first 12 games of the season, joining Marcus Allen, Mark van Eeghen and Napoleon Kaufman.
STOCK DOWN
WR/KR Trevor Davis. Davis fumbled a kickoff in the first quarter and then was stopped on a fourth-and-1 end-around in the second quarter when the Raiders were driving down 7-0. Davis was replaced by Jalen Richard on kick returns following his fumble and didn’t play another snap on offense after his one run. The Raiders released him on Monday.
INJURED
LB Marquel Lee was activated from IR on Monday after being sidelined in September with an ankle injury.
RELATED: Raiders doomed by drops in loss to Jets
UP NEXT
The Raiders return home for the final two scheduled games at the Coliseum, hosting Tennessee on Sunday and Jacksonville next week.
Read more at: Oakland Raiders Media Services / More AP NFL: www.apnews.com/tag/NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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