The Chose One has been thrown around a lot, from Star Wars to Harry Potter to the Oakland Raiders. Wait what? Yes, there may be a “Chosen One” in Oakland to save the franchise from continued misery.
The Oakland Raiders last made the NFL playoffs in 2002 when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, 48-21. After 14 years of missing out on the postseason, Oakland is trying to fight its way back into the picture.
Derek Carr, 25, was drafted by the Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. 2016 is his third season in the league, but some of his teammates think he’s already capable of leading Oakland back into the playoffs.
“[Derek Carr] is the chosen one,” Raiders’ linebacker Khalil Mack said after Oakland’s 28-27 victory over Baltimore Sunday. “He did it again. He pulled it out for us. Defensively, we wanted to be sure we held it out for them at the end.”
The Raiders led the majority of Sunday’s game before the Ravens took the lead with just 3:36 left.
But Carr didn’t let his team give up. On its ensuing possession, Carr led Oakland down the field on a six-play, 66-yard drive. The final play? A 23-yard passing touchdown to Michael Crabtree for the winning score. Oh and that winning score was the third touchdown connection for the duo in the game.
“Smart, tough and accurate,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said. “That’s what we have in Derek Carr.”
Back in week one against the New Orleans Saints, Carr also led the Raiders on a late game winning drive to give Oakland a close 35-34 win thanks to a two-point conversion.
So far this season, Carr’s passer rating is at 104.6, the fourth best in the league behind Sam Bradford (107.8), Jimmy Garoppolo (119.0), and Matt Ryan (126.3).
Through four games, Carr has racked up 1,066 yards (14th), nine passing touchdowns (4th), and just one interception (27th). His final totals against Baltimore: 25-35 (71.4%) passing, 199 yards, and four passing touchdowns.
The Oakland Raiders are slated to visit the San Diego Chargers on Sunday October 9th at 4:25 pm EST.
