In the NFL, games are won and lost on third down. The great quarterbacks know to keep the chains moving on third downs and the lesser quarterbacks crumble on the pressure.
Early on in Derek Carr’s career, he was not an efficient quarterback on third down. Too often, he was will too eager to dump the ball off to his running back instead of challenging defenses beyond the sticks. But to his credit, he has improved in that area significantly under Jon Gruden.
During the 2020 season, only one quarterback in the NFL averaged more yards per attempt on third down than Carr and that is eventual MVP Aaron Rodgers. Carr also averaged a career-high 10.25 air yards per attempt on third down, fifth-most in the NFL.
Carr also finished the season with a passer rating of 106.5, fourth-best among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts on third down. The only quarterbacks ahead of him were Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Not a bad list of quarterbacks to be associated with.
Take a look at the third-down passing numbers across the NFL last season and you will be surprised just how good Carr was on third down:
Here is how every quarterback in the NFL performed on third down during the 2020 season: pic.twitter.com/HZkl0qyVpM
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 17, 2021
Make no mistake about it, Carr played at an elite (or near-elite) level in 2020. He also did so without several key offensive linemen and numerous injuries at wide receiver. It’s just so impressive how efficient he was this season and all the stats and numbers suggest he’s only getting better as a passer.
The Raiders have a lot of holes on their roster, especially on defense. But Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock and the rest of Raiders Nation can rest easy knowing that Carr is a franchise quarterback. Now, it’s time to finally build the rest of the team around him properly.
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