With Games on the Line, Carr Has Been Mr. Clutch

Raiders' quarterback has evolved into one of the NFL's best late-game performers, especially when Oakland is trailing

In just his third season in the NFL, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has evolved into one of the league’s most clutch performers.

In helping his team to a 4-1 start this season, Carr has come up big with games on the line. If it comes to that type of a situation again this Sunday when the Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs, Carr says he’ll relish the opportunity.

“Absolutely,” he told reporters Wednesday. “That’s the way I love to play. I love having a lot put on my back. … Any quarterback does.”

Carr leads the NFL in quarterback rating, at 114.8, when his team is trailing. This year, Carr is completing 66.3 percent of his throws in those situations, for 8.1 yards per attempt and seven touchdowns vs. zero interceptions, according to NFL Total Access.

Carr has led two game-winning drives, over the Saints in Week 1 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4. This past week in a victory over the Chargers he also was brilliant late, completing a fourth-down TD pass to Michael Crabtree late in the game and a two-point conversion throw to Amari Cooper that gave Oakland a lead it would never relinquish.

Going into the Chargers game, Carr had six game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in the NFL since the start of the 2015 season, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Carr’s accuracy and decision-making have been brilliant late in games. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio says his performance is a credit to his talent and poise.

“It’s really everything with Derek,” Del Rio told Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com recently. “I think he is super competitive. He is a guy that is very well-prepared. He’s really, I think, taken a step forward in terms of emotional control, the poise to be kind of surgeon-like and just be accurate with the ball and let his playmakers do their thing. So, it’s a combination of things, but I think he’s definitely taken a step forward for us.”

Overall, Carr ranks eighth in the NFL in passing with 1,383 yards and 11 TD passes with just two interceptions. He’s also taken just five sacks and has a QB rating of 102.3. His QB rating has improved from 76.6 as a rookie in 2014 to 91.1 last year to 102.3, while his yards per pass attempt have jumped from 5.4 to 6.9 to 7.1.

Sunday’s game against the 2-2 Chiefs at O.co Coliseum is scheduled to kick off at 1:05 p.m.

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