Derek Carr and Justin Simmons played against each other a dozen times when they were the faces of two proud AFC West franchises — and Carr’s Las Vegas Raiders led the series with a 9-3 record in that time. But now they’re set to compete again in the NFC South, with Simmons having signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons and Carr leading the New Orleans Saints.
A lot can happen in 12 games. Carr threw 355 passes during that span with Simmons lined up against him. As a two-time Pro Bowler with 30 career interceptions, it’s worth asking how many times Simmons picked off Carr. What would be your guess? Two? Four? Eight? More?
It turns out that Simmons only intercepted Carr once in this rivalry series. And you’ve got to see the play to believe it happened:
.@jsimms1119 will take THAT.#WPMOYChallenge + Simmons pic.twitter.com/5wFVFin9SE
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 3, 2021
That was a deflection off the hands of tight end Darren Waller, which Simmons was in position to snatch away. But it shouldn’t be that surprising. Carr has faced a lot of criticism — deservedly — for his first year with the Saints. One thing he’s always done well is protect the football. Carr has never thrown more than 14 interceptions in a single season, and he was picked off just eight times last year. It makes sense that he’d avoid dangerous throws in twice-a-year division rivalry games.
But his historical success against Simmons and the Broncos is a little encouraging. Carr averaged 254.9 passing yards per game against Simmons’ defenses over the years. That’s an improvement on his averages both with the Raiders (248.0) and the Saints (228.1). Simmons is a player he knows well, and matching up against that old foe could lead to some favorable situations for No. 4. We’ll see.
Some would say it’s disingenuous of us to downplay Atlanta acquiring Simmons, a player we’ve consistently lobbied for New Orleans to sign and who visited the Saints before joining the Falcons. And to that criticism, we’d take refuge in audacity and shamelessly pump up the Saints-Falcons rivalry. Simmons might have been the missing piece Dennis Allen’s defense needed to play winning football. Instead, the Falcons are overpaying a past-his-prime player at a less-valuable position who won’t solve their problems. It’s a waste of their resources, but we’ll see how it plays out for them. Maybe they’ll only give up 84 points in their next two games instead of 85 like in their last two losses. Never break kayfabe.
