The Oakland Raiders have looked nothing like the offensive juggernaut most expected them to be coming into the 2017 season.
The Raiders failed to score 20 points for the fourth straight game in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. However, after missing just one game with transverse process fractures in his back, Derek Carr refused to blame the offense's struggles on his injury.
"It had nothing to do with my back," Carr said, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. "They play really soft zone coverage. That's what (Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley) does. He tries to create pressure and hide some things. Usually, when they play soft, you have to take those."
While Carr denies his back being a factor, he was unable to test the Chargers' defense downfield, averaging 5.3 yards per pass on 30 attempts.
And despite his injury, the pivot insists he was healthy enough to run the team's entire playbook.
"We go out there as an offense and we're going to run what's called to the best of our abilities," Carr said. "There was no talk of trying to get the ball out of my hands or to not take hits or anything like that."
The Raiders dropped to 2-4 after the loss to L.A., and now own the league's 30th-ranked offense.
Some fans have begun to point the finger at offensive coordinator Todd Downing, but Carr called his scheme "great," and took responsibility for throwing two interceptions.
"Details. That's a frustrating thing,” Carr said. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm really frustrated. We work too hard for that kind of stuff to happen. That's an easy catch, that's an easy play, if I do the right thing, if our players do the right thing. What I'm trying to say, is that it should be an easy play. And it was a turnover. That should never happen. We gave them two gifts.
“It's myself and the whole offense included. We need to lock into every little detail, that's the problem. There's nothing else. Our guys work their tail off. When I get there, guys are there and they're working. We're working hard, but we have to lock in on the details."
