Derek Carr inadvertently throws Josh McDaniels under the bus

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr may have thrown head coach Josh McDaniels under the bus, albeit inadvertently.

The Las Vegas Raiders appeared to be heading in the right direction following a disastrous start to the year, highlighted by blown leads. But with the team needing to win to keep their playoff hopes alive late in the season, the Raiders blew a late 10-6 lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost 13-10. With that, they are 6-9 on the year with two games remaining and one Wild Card spot left.

After the Raiders’ latest loss, quarterback Derek Carr spoke about their underperforming this season, despite the big additions they made. While saying that “talent doesn’t mean wins,” Carr may have inadvertently taken a shot at head coach Josh McDaniels in his full quote.

"“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, h/t ProFootballTalk. “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.”"

Raiders: Derek Carr may have taken inadvertent shot at Josh McDaniels

The first year of the McDaniels era in Las Vegas hasn’t gone to plan. He was brought in to build the Raiders into a consistent playoff contender, one season removed from the team clinching a playoff berth. They brought in big names on both sides of the line of scrimmage to put them over the edge, including linebacker Chandler Jones and wide receiver Davante Adams.

Yet, here they stand, 6-9 on the season.

The Raiders haven’t been able to hold onto double digit leads throughout the season. Through 16 weeks of the 2022 campaign, the Raiders have blown double-digit leads at halftime four times, the first team to do so since at least 1930. Not a statistic you want to hold in the history books if you are McDaniels or the 2022 Raiders team as a whole.

In Week 16, the Raiders defense was able to limit the Steelers to just six points, but the offense couldn’t continue to put points on the board. That can be credited to Carr’s performance, as he completed just 53.3-percent of his passes (16-for-30) for 174 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Two of those interceptions occurred while inside Pittsburgh territory.

It will be interesting how the Raiders approach their offseason plans. Owner Mark Davis has already confirmed that McDaniels will be the head coach of the team in 2023. As for Carr, that is to be determined, as they have an important decision to make immediately after Super Bowl 57.