4 days ago
One of Derek Carr's all-time favorite plays came at the Saints' expense
'We went right down the field and we scored'
Former New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr isn't throwing many footballs these days, but he's still keeping busy in retirement. After being talked into cutting his list from of the best plays from his NFL career down from 20 to just his top five, Carr reflected on his favorite moments as a pro during a video shared on the Home Grown Network YouTube channel he started with his brother David.
None of those five plays happened when he was wearing a Saints uniform, but one of them came against the black and gold. Carr said he threw the second-best ball of his career back in 2016's season opener.
"Number two, in New Orleans, alright?" Carr began, clapping his hands for emphasis. The irony that the second-best play in his career happened against his future team wasn't lost on him. He continued, "With (Michael) Crabtree. I know that this is a funny one, I've got Saints helmets and Raider helmets all around me. Just the memory of this one, we're playing against Hall of Fame Drew Brees. We're going against D.A., Sean Payton, all these guys. Brandin Cooks just caught a 109-yard touchdown on us. Like, this game was unbelievable."
Trailing the Saints 34-27 with about six minutes remaining, Carr spoke with head coach Jack Del Rio on the headset and agreed they should go for two rather than give Brees a chance to win. He and the Raiders drove 75 yards on their final possession, helped by two defensive penalties to convert a 3rd-and-4 and a pivotal 4th-and-5 deep in New Orleans territory, before Carr connected with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts. They got the two-point play he wanted, and the rest, Carr says, is history.
"We went right down the field and we scored. And we called a zone play, we got a one-on-one play and Crab was my guy. I had a lot of those guys, but Crab on that moment was my guy. He had the fade, I gave him a chance, he made a great play back in the Superdome. It was awesome. I remember looking up and obviously it's Drew so you're like, man, if there's any time on this clock we left too much of it. But we ended up winning that game. It's one of my favorite memories," Carr finished.
Brees did get a chance with 47 seconds left but no timeouts, and a pair of passes to Willie Snead only got him up to the Raiders 43-yard line before a throw to tight end Coby Fleener fell incomplete. Then-rookie kicker Wil Lutz tried a 61-yard field goal but couldn't make it, and the Saints started their third consecutive season with a loss. As for Carr's Raiders? They ended the year at 12-4 but were beaten by a 9-win Houston Texans team on the road after Carr was injured in Week 15. That season didn't end how he wanted, but Carr did enjoy a memorable start.
We just have to ask: did it really have to come at the Saints' expense? According to Stathead and Pro Football Reference, Carr led 143 possessions with the Saints at home in his two years as their starting quarterback, and he managed this feat (driving downfield at least 75 yards and scoring a touchdown) just 11 times, with nine of those drives coming in the same four games. If he had played better in New Orleans, maybe he would have more fond memories to look back on when he was wearing the home uniform instead of the visitors'.
