Derek Carr Leads Las Vegas Raiders Forward, Not Backward
Henderson, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-1 this season with a 36-20 loss to the New England Patriots today. It was a tight game into the fourth quarter.
I predicted a loss before the season and even on Friday on the team radio station. I do not say that patting myself on the back, but to explain my thought process.
Decimated by injuries, on a short week and traveling from the West to the East are all doom signs. But when you add to the mix injuries before the game a litany of guys going down during the game, the Raiders were in a no-win situation.
Now that doesn't excuse poor mistakes by young players losing leverage and a defensive line with more holes than the finest Swiss cheese. But what needs to be remembered is that teams in the NFL don't go undefeated, and it was one loss in a 16-game season.
If you were happy with my 10-season win prediction and a return to the playoff prognostication, you need to know I did that expecting a loss today.
But for Derek Carr, this game was something else. He walked into the post-game press conference looking for no excuses. With all of the reasons that went into the loss, the proven, elite professional quarterback led, rather than pointed fingers.
Carr did what makes a good quarterback elite. He knows he is the face of this franchise, and he acted like it. He took no prisoners after the loss, starting with himself.
"I mean, we're always confident. What did you expect for New England to roll over after what happened last week? They're going to come in here guns blazing," Carr said. "Coach said all week, they're going to play their best game, and we better bring ours. And we didn't play our best game. And we still made it a game. We still ran the ball efficiently. We still threw it when we could, when we wanted to, where we wanted to when they didn't take certain things away. I mean, we loved the plan. So there's a lot of confidence there. We didn't end up with the win."
For Carr, he understands that an NFL season lasts 16 long games. This isn't college where one loss destroys your season. It is a marathon and no sprint.
That is why I asked him, with all of the things against the Raiders today, if there is a danger in making more out of a less than one should. It is far from time to push the panic button. He agreed with me.
"Gosh, no. Especially if we went out there, and you know, we couldn't do one thing right; then there's a problem, then we gotta go, what's going on. Everyone took a turn today. We lost the turnover battle, and we lost the situational battle. That's all it is. And it's one game, " Carr said. "If we're going to blow up everything after the good things that we've done after one-game, then this ain't for some of those people, you know what I'm saying?
"Like we are just fine. We're going to be fine, and we better have a good week of practice because we gotta another playoff team coming to our stadium. They smell blood in the water. Well, we gotta be ready to fight for that."
The Raider losts on the road to the New England Patriots. One loss like this has no bearing on the team. Afterward, the Raiders elite franchise quarterback put his teammates on his shoulder and led.
That is why Carr is not a good professional quarterback; he is elite. That is why they will respond, come home, and beat the Buffalo Bills, finishing the first quarter of the season at 3-1.
Just remember to thank Derek Carr for not just playing football but also leading the Silver and Black.
How to watch or listen to the Las Vegas Raiders versus the Buffalo Bills Sunday?
TV: CBS 1 PM ET/10 AM PT
Radio: Raider Nation Radio
Odds: Unavailable at this time
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