The only positive was the running game. This was exactly the game plan to keep Mahomes and the red hot offense off the field. Josh Jacobs had over 100+ rushing yards. And that's that. You can't really fault the defense on this one. This team had three turnovers. That's the last thing you wanted to do. And the Chiefs made them pay. Carr threw a pick to Tyrann Mathieu after a solid opening drive. Trevor Davis fumbled on the kickoff return. Carr threw a pick 6. All those turnovers allowed the Chiefs to jump to a 21-0 lead. And they never looked back as Mahomes and the offense absolutely gashed this team. As I said, you can't completely blame the defense on this when the offense outside of the running game couldn't anything going. The Raiders went the length of the game to throw one completed pass to a wideout. That's just sad.
Let's talk about Derek Carr for a bit. He makes us Raider fans bipolar. When he plays great, he's great. When he plays poor, he's garbage. It's a controversial topic. Of course, it's a team game. He's not completely to blame. But, let's face facts here. The Raiders are paying him over $100 million just to play game manager and play scared in the pocket. Both Reggie McKenzie previously and Mike Mayock thus far have invested so many resources to build a talented offensive unit around him. And he can't deliver. You can pin some blame on the turnover for offensive coordinators that Carr had the over the years. You can blame the Antonio Brown fiasco. You can blame the turnover from the 2016 and 2017 rosters. But you know what separates the Aaron Rodgers' of the world? The Russell Wilsons of the world? Heck, even the Tom Brady's of the world? They find ways to make the team better with the weapons they have, with the O-line they have. You don't hear many fans clamoring that they need to give them more talent on that unit or give them more time to learn a new system.
For six years, we've made those kinds of excuses for Carr. He needs a better O-line. Reggie McKenzie gave him that with Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson and later, Mike Mayock gave him that with Trent Brown. He needs weapons. They give him Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and later Jared Cook and Darren Waller. He needs a running game. They gave him Marshawn Lynch who still had some left in the tank and drafted a stud in Josh Jacobs. All those years, they've invested on the offensive end to build around Carr. Hence why they couldn't build up the defense as well. Because all of the investments is going to Carr and the offense. I love DC the person. He had some good years in 2015 and 2016. But, it's time to take the blinders off for good. He may be the record holder of stats in franchise history. But, the overall W-L record as a starter, the record in cold weather games, and the record against the Chiefs speak for themselves. He stares down receivers. He's too timid to extend plays with his legs nowadays. There's no time to give him more time. He's either the guy or he's not. It's time to look this in the mirror.
**Next week, I will not be posting all week. The semester is ending and I gotta put all my writing efforts for a Master's paper in progress. Lakers' Weekly Roundup for this week will be posted soon. Then, I'm going dark from this blog all of next week.**
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