OAKLAND – Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw three fourth-quarter interceptions in a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite a road game’s interlude, the second-year pro picked up at home right where he left off. By throwing more picks.
Carr threw interceptions on consecutive pass attempts in the first quarter, which put the Raiders in a 14-0 hole that impacted a game eventually lost to the Green Bay Packers.
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“I wish those things didn’t happen, especially the way they happened,” Carr said. “I just sat there and thought ‘Really?’ I was kind of upset after that, but you have to come back and compete your tail off. You fight back, but I would absolutely love for those things not to happen.”
Carr has thrown nine of his 11 interceptions at home, including crucial mistakes in the last four home losses.
Sunday’s first interception came on the Raiders’ second possession, when he underthrew tight end Clive Walford on a pass picked by safety Micah Hyde. It was returned 34 yards deep into Raiders territory.
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“The guy’s back was to me so I tried to sneak it in without the guy seeing and he turned his head around and caught it,” Carr said. “He made a good play.”
John Kuhn made a good play great with a five-yard touchdown run.
Packers cornerback Damarious Randall didn’t need help to score on Carr’s next pass attempt, intended for Seth Roberts. He returned the interception 43 yards for a touchdown to put the Packers up two touchdowns.
“The pass just got high on me. It did,” Carr said. “I wish that if I had the play over, I’d love to bring it down obviously, but that’s where I wanted to throw it. It was just high.”
That set the Raiders way back, but head coach Jack Del Rio didn’t yell and scream at his young quarterback.
“I don’t think biting his head off right there is going to help him bounce back,” Del Rio said. “Obviously, that’s a critical mistake, but he’s our quarterback. Sometimes things are going to happen in this game, but you have to be able to play through them, keep fighting, stay in the fight. I thought it was more important for him to understand that. That was what I conveyed to him. And we did, we did fight our way back.”
That’s true. The Raiders climbed back in it with 13 unanswered points and took a 20-17 lead on a beautiful 26-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper. Things grinded to a halt after that, as Carr’s offense wasn’t able to sustain production.
“Give them credit. They’re a really good team,” Carr said. “There were spurts where we were able to move the ball really well and get some points. They happened to stop us a few times. It’s not always going to be pretty. You just have to weather the storm and keep fighting.”