Derek Carr accomplished a lot in his nine years with the Raiders, but the quarterback has yet to beat every team in the NFL. Now with the New Orleans Saints, he’ll have an opportunity to notch his first win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday after twice coming up short.
Carr’s first loss to Atlanta came back in 2016, when he threw for 299 yards with 3 touchdown passes without a turnover, but it wasn’t enough (the Falcons triumphed 35-28, pulling away with a big fourth-quarter scoring output). It was an admirable performance in a losing effort.
Things weren’t as impressive in his second outing. The Falcons bulldozed Carr’s Raiders 43-6 in 2020, nearly three years ago to the day of their last meeting (Nov. 29). Carr was sacked three times and threw an interception to Falcons linebacker Deion Jones which was returned 67 yards for a touchdown, also losing three fumbles. It wasn’t much to write home about.
So hopefully Carr can bounce back and take care of the Falcons on Sunday for the Saints. He’s had two opportunities to get his first-ever wins over other teams earlier this season, but he exited both games with injuries. He left the Green Bay Packers game after taking the lead but was pulled from the Minnesota Vikings matchup while facing a steep deficit. Let’s hope for smoother sailing on Sunday in Atlanta.
