The Raiders needed to move on from Derek Carr this offseason. The team peaked with Carr during the 2021 season, reaching the Wild Card round. It was clear that things weren’t going well and it was time to move on for both parties.
But when the Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo, there was a general acceptance among the fans that the big plays in the passing game would likely decrease with a new quarterback. For all of Carr’s struggles, he did create a ton of chunk plays down the field with his arm.
With Garoppolo under center, the deep passing attack has vanished. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Garoppolo did not complete a single pass beyond 20 air yards in Week 8. In fact, he only attempted three passes beyond 20 yards, one of which was intercepted:
The @Lions defense also allowed the lowest completion percentage over expected (-20.1%) in a game this season. Garoppolo finished 10 of 21 for 126 yards & INT.
🔹 Jimmy G Comp Pct: 47.6%
🔹 Avg Completion Probability: 67.7%
🔹 Comp Pct Over Expected: -20.1%#LVvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/ImQl22soro— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 31, 2023
The Raiders were hopeful that Garoppolo could take care of the ball better than Carr and that would minimize the lack of big plays. But Garoppolo has now thrown nine interceptions in 5.5 games, so it’s clearly not working. He’s also taking more sacks than Carr and the offense has significantly decreased their production.
While there is still time for things to turn around in Las Vegas, it’s getting pretty bleak. This is arguably the worst offense in the NFL despite having two All-Pro players from last year on that side of the ball. The Raiders need more from their franchise quarterback. Or else it’s time to seriously consider making a chance at that position ahead of Week 9.
