On Sunday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders will host the Tennessee Titans at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. There are important matchups to consider when trying to determine a winner, but the quarterbacks likely hold the keys to victory. Hot and cold quarterback, Derek Carr, must have a productive game in order for the Raiders to leave Sunday with a victory.
Derek Carr Holds the Key to Victory in Week 14
Quarterback Play Will Likely be Key
Derek Carr is currently the hot debate topic amongst the Oakland Raiders’ community. His tenure in Oakland has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least, especially when you take this season into account. The Raiders have failed to score more than 10 points in their last two contests and Carr deserves the brunt of the blame for that. He can currently be defined as a dink-and-dunk quarterback that appears to be terrified to throw the ball past 10 yards.
It doesn’t help that none of Oakland’s wide receivers can create any separation from defensive backs, but shots need to be taken downfield regardless or teams will continue to stack the line of scrimmage. If Carr has a repeat performance of his last two games, then the Raiders will have no shot at beating the Titans, and will likely be unofficially eliminated from playoff contention after Sunday.
The Other Key Matchup
Darren Waller vs. Kenny Vaccaro
Coming off yet another 100-yard performance versus the Chiefs, Darren Waller has been one of the lone bright spots on the Raiders’ offense this season. Since Waller is too fast and too refined as a route runner to be covered by a linebacker, he’ll likely be matched up against strong safety, and former first round pick, Kenny Vaccaro throughout the course of the game. Vaccaro isn’t having a s great of a season as he’d like, allowing a completion percentage of 75 and tallying zero interceptions thus far this year. This is a matchup that the Raiders must exploit whenever presented the opportunity, or it’s going to be another long day for the Raiders.
Final Thoughts on Derek Carr
After stringing together a few wins, the Raiders have come crashing back down to earth following two consecutive blowout losses. One of the biggest issues for the Raiders is their inability to get easy points. They only seem to score on long, methodical drives and rarely have any dynamic plays that lead to easy/quick points. If everything doesn’t go right for the Raiders on offense, then they won’t score. Many individuals believe that this is a prove-it year for Carr, and I happen to be one of them.
With the plethora of quarterbacks available in the upcoming draft, and the direction offenses in the league are heading in, Carr might be playing himself out of being a starting quarterback in this league. His inability to scramble out of the pocket, and his unwillingness to throw the ball down the field, has many Raiders’ fans concerned for the future of this team. It’s up to Carr to prove all of us wrong, not much more needs to be said.
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