Photo via Ben Margot, AP
Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders still have plenty to play for with just two games remaining in the 2016 NFL regular season.
The main reason the Raiders have been reestablished as an NFL brand this year has been Carr, who played two seasons at Clements High School. Thanks to Carr, the Raiders should remain relevant for many years.
Carr is in just his third season in the NFL, but he’s already one of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s thrown for 25 touchdown passes and he’s already mastered the art of taking care of the football with just six interceptions this season. He’s thrown fewer interceptions than Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. The only quarterbacks who have a lower interception percentage this season than Carr are Tom Brady, Dak Prescott and Sam Bradford.
The next step for Carr is to deliver on his promise and he can still do that in 2016. The Raiders are 11-3 this season and have clinched a playoff spot in the AFC for the first time since they lost in the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-21 in 2002.
The Raiders have racked up wins against quality teams such as the Denver Broncos, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Baltimore Ravens, the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills. It’s the difference between the Raiders being in the playoffs and those teams being outside of the playoffs.
The Raiders are in the playoff field, but it’s fair to question what they will do in the playoffs. The Raiders have played three teams that occupy a playoff spot. The only win came over the Houston Texans, who lead the AFC South. The Raiders lost to the Atlanta Falcons, who lead the NFC South and they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs twice. The Chiefs could still win the AFC West and that means the Raiders would have to begin the playoffs on the road.
For Carr and the Raiders to validate themselves, they need to beat a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. The Steelers and the Patriots have had experience and success in the postseason. The Raiders want to be consistent like the Steelers or the Patriots. The Raiders have been out of it for so long that it might be unfair to put any more expectations on them.
But unrealistic expectations are nothing new for quarterback Andrew Luck out of Stratford. The Indianapolis Colts’ struggles the past two seasons have tempered the expectations for Luck and they are almost to the point where his reputation as an elite quarterback has taken a hit. It’s certainly felt like a long time since the Colts were in the AFC championship game two seasons ago. Luck threw for 40 touchdown passes in 2014 after building off a 38-10 comeback win in the second half of a wild card game against the Chiefs in 2013 and making the postseason as a rookie in 2012.
But in 2015, the Colts went just 2-5 in seven games that Luck started before he missed the rest of the season with a lacerated kidney.
In 2016, the Colts are 7-7 with two games remaining and they just played their best game of the season in a 34-6 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in week 15. But for the Colts to reach the postseason, they need to finish with a better record than the Texans, who they lost to twice, to win the AFC South. If the Colts make it as a wild card team, they need the Miami Dolphins, the Ravens, the Titans and the Broncos to lose.
Luck has the chance to pass for at least 4,000 yards for the third time in his career, but he needs to get to back to the postseason to be considered one of the elite quarterbacks again.
The Raiders host the Colts on Christmas Eve.
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