Raise your hand if you thought Derek Carr would leave the Las Vegas Raiders, go to New Orleans and make a difference.
Let the record show I am raising my hand.
In one game, that has happened. Who knows what the rest of the season will be like? But in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, in the Caesar’s Superdome, Carr stood tall, throwing for 305 yards and a touchdown in a 16-15 win.
Brett Martell chronicled the game for The Associated Press here: Derek Carr’s New Orleans debut is a success as the Saints edge the Titans 16-15 | AP News.
The Saints’ passing game was definitely back, almost as if Drew Brees were back in the lineup. Chris Olave had eight catches for 112 yards and Rasheed Shaheed had five catches for 89 yards and Carr’s only TD pass.
Heck, Michael Thomas – remember him? – even got into the act, with five catches for 61 yards, after missing 14 games last year.
The real story might not have been Carr’s success, but the continued collapse of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who now has a draft pick behind him – former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis – that ownership might decide at any time needs to play. In the loss to the Saints, Tannehill had three interceptions.
