As Monday begins, the Raiders are technically still alive in the postseason race, despite being 6-9 following Saturday night’s loss to the Steelers.
That could — and probably will — change by the end of the day, as Las Vegas will be eliminated if the Chargers defeat the Colts on Monday night. But the Raiders had a chance to truly keep themselves alive with a victory over Pittsburgh and just couldn’t get it done.
Derek Carr has now tied a career-high with 14 interceptions this season. He threw three on Saturday night, including one on Las Vegas’ last drive that effectively ended the game. He’s thrown multiple picks in three of the last five games. He’s also completed 55 percent or fewer of his passes in each of the last four games.
So as the Raiders move to their last two weeks of the season hosting San Francisco and Kansas City, Carr talked after Saturday’s loss about how it stings a bit more to know the capabilities of a team that continues to come up short.
“We are talented, but talent doesn’t mean wins and I’ve seen that firsthand in different years and so when you look at it, you have to watch the film,” Carr said in his postgame press conference. “You can’t just throw something out there and say this or that. You have to watch it and know it and see it and make the corrections and Josh [McDaniels] has been doing that.
“We’re doing our best to do that, to make sure as leaders we’re pushing everybody to do the same things and when you fall short, I mean, my heart breaks. I just care so much. When you don’t do your best, you let your team down, let your organization and your fans down, it hurts. It breaks your heart, but at the end of the day, nobody cares, and you get back up and you keep going. That’s how you do it.”
Carr is having one of his worst seasons, completing just 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,522 yards with 24 touchdowns and a league-high 14 interceptions. His yards per game have dropped from a career-high 282.6 last year to 234.8 in 2022. All this adds up to the Raiders having a big decision to make on the quarterback just after the Super Bowl.