After a rough Week 4 game against the Chargers, the hope was that Derek Carr would bounce back in a big way against the Bears. After falling to 3-1, they needed their quarterback to play at an elite level to win this game.
However, that did not happen for a variety of reasons. Carr did not play his best, but he also didn’t get a lot of help either. Bryan Edwards dropped a long pass that surely would have put the team into scoring position. The offensive line could not hold up and the Raiders didn’t have any run game to speak of.
Still, it could have been a better day for Carr. Take a look at his passing chart via the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. As you will see, most of Carr’s passing attempts were from his right side at or near the line of scrimmage:
Here is #Raiders QB Derek Carr's passing chart from Week 5: pic.twitter.com/pvOs0kfOPF
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 11, 2021
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a more complacent and passive Derek Carr. That could be due to the offensive line, which has struggled to keep him upright on longer developing plays.
But whatever the reason, the Raiders aren’t attacking the middle of the field as much or as effectively as they did a few weeks ago. For this offense to work, the Raiders need to protect Carr so he can dice up teams between the seams and down the field.
Right now, nothing is working on offense. And until this team figures out how to move the ball via the air as they did in the first three weeks, they are going to struggle to find wins.
