Derek Carr has improved across the board in 2020. He currently has the highest passer rating of his career and has already thrown more touchdowns than he did in all of the 2019 season.
One of the areas that Carr has really improved has been in the red zone. He’s converting more trips inside the opponent’s 20 into touchdowns than ever before and that’s helped the Raiders become one of the better offenses in the NFL.
According to Pro Football Focus, Carr is one of the league’s highest-graded red zone quarterbacks. In fact, he’s the highest-graded AFC quarterback in that area of the field. His passer rating on the season in the red zone is 106 as he’s thrown 15 touchdowns and no interceptions. Here are the top-five quarterbacks in the red zone via PFF:
Highest-graded red-zone QBs:
1. Kirk Cousins – 92.1
2. Aaron Rodgers – 90.7
3. Russell Wilson – 90.2
4. Derek Carr – 89.5
5. Baker Mayfield – 82.9 pic.twitter.com/ub5dHS7E0I— PFF (@PFF) December 9, 2020
With the tough schedule the Raiders have in the upcoming month of the season, they are going to need Carr to continue to shine in the red zone. It’s clear the defense isn’t going to get better any time soon and they need their franchise quarterback to play at an elite level. Luckily, that is exactly what he’s has done over the last two seasons.
