The New Orleans Saints fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 31-24 last Thursday in what was another subpar effort for quarterback Derek Carr, who threw a pivotal pick-six in the red zone during the loss.
There was a time when Carr was one of the most exciting young gunslingers in the NFL. That was many years ago when the Raiders still played in Oakland.
Now, it is seriously becoming debatable as to whether or not Carr is a starting-caliber signal-caller anymore.
To make matters worse, Carr seemed to throw his teammates under the bus after the game, and he was also visibly frustrated on the sidelines (which has become a common theme for him this season).
Not only that, but he now has defensive players from other teams taking shots at him.
Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins made some rather harsh comments about Carr after Jacksonville’s Week 7 win, essentially stating that there is no longer any diversity in his game.
“We know that’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna checkdown, checkdown, checkdown,” said Jenkins, via John Sigler of USA Today. “We just have to win the game down the field, and that was the mindset of the DBs.”
Ouch.
It’s a fair point by Jenkins, though.
While Carr did complete 33 passes on the evening, he totaled just 301 yards, good for a rather meager average of 9.1 yards per completion.
“We’ll let him have the check-downs,” Jenkins added. “We’ll come up, rally, tackle that, and get rid of the shot plays.”
To Jenkins’ point, running back Alvin Kamara logged 12 catches in the loss. He also had a game earlier in the year where he caught 13 balls.
Carr has only completed one pass of 50 yards or more this season and is averaging just 9.8 yards per completion in 2023, his lowest mark since his rookie campaign back in 2014.
On the year overall, Carr has thrown for 1,600 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 63.9 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 82.8.
The Saints are 3-4 and will take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.
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