Did Derek Carr's Pass To Amari Cooper Hit The Spidercam? [VIDEO]
AMIE JUST, Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has faced the Kansas City Chiefs enough times in his bright young career to know what he was going up against on a cold night at Arrowhead Stadium.
It didn't seem to change anything: He was on the losing end for the fifth straight time.
"They've beaten us twice (this season), yeah. They've had us," said Carr, who beat Kansas City the first time he met them before all the trouble began. "It's frustrating. It's really frustrating for me, because you know what to expect and you go out there and you see it and we just don't get it done."
Carr was 17 of 41 for 117 yards passing, the second-worst mark of his career in both completion percentage and yardage. In fact, three of his worst games in terms of completion percentage have come against the Chiefs, who are now tied with Oakland at 10-3 and atop the AFC West.
Carr didn't have an answer for why the Chiefs seem to befuddle him. Neither did his left tackle, Donald Penn, who lamented the way Oakland struggled to move the ball Thursday night.
"I don't know," Penn said. "I really don't. I'm being honest with you. Aren't you surprised? I'm surprised. We've been flowin' all year. I don't know."
Not all of the incomplete passes were Carr's fault. Seth Roberts only caught two of the nine passes that were sent his way, and he dropped what would have been a touchdown reception that forced the Raiders to kick a field goal instead. Rookie wide receiver Jalen Richard didn't catch any of the four throws in his direction, and even established players like Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper struggled.
Crabtree had four catches for 21 yards. Cooper had five catches for 29 yards.
"We just didn't execute how we normally could," Cooper said. "At the end of the way, it doesn't matter what the other team defensively. We just have to find a way to execute and move the ball. That's what an offense does. We attack."
The Raiders had plenty of other miscues — a botched field-goal attempt, a punt that Tyreek Hill returned for a touchdown. But that didn't stop Carr from putting the blame on himself.
"I feel very responsible for that," he said, "because as the leader of the offense of the team, I feel sick to my stomach when we put something like that out on the film. It hurts. I promise you. I put too much time into this to go do something like that."
The Chiefs largely kept the same game plan from their 26-10 victory over Oakland in October, and outside linebacker Dee Ford said they executed it to perfection.
"We came in with the same formula," Ford said. "We wanted to affect him and stop the run. ... We eliminated big plays. That is just what happens when you play sound defense."
The result? Four of Oakland's drives went three-and-out.
"Everything about tonight was unusual, to be honest," said Carr, who remains optimistic about the finish stretch. "To have our defense step up for us and make plays like that and for us to go out there and not execute, do things that we don't do, that's what's frustrating."
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