Remember the silly narrative that Matthew Stafford couldn't win a postseason game? That notion was wiped out during his Super Bowl run with the Los Angeles Rams.
Derek Carr is looking for a similar turnabout after inking his new three-year, $121.5 million extension with the Las Vegas Raiders.
"The question of, 'Can I win a playoff game?' Yeah, that's ridiculous," Carr said Wednesday. "Just because we haven't, just because we had one chance and we lost in the last series of a game to the AFC champions? Yeah, I think we can. It just shows you how close we were. But with that said, 55 percent of the teams that make the playoffs, the next year don't. So the odds are against us. I like that kind of thought process better, so I'm going to keep that underdog mentality, and kind of that chip on the shoulder mindset."
In eight years as the Raiders' starting quarterback, Carr has spearheaded two postseason appearances. The first, in 2016, he didn't participate in the playoffs after suffering an injury. Vegas lost to the Bengals in the Wild Card Round this past season. Cincinnati eventually went on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Judging a quarterback solely on his postseason success is folly, as Stafford's run to the Lombardi showed last year. A QB's success should be taken in totality, with the surrounding circumstance playing a role in the most team-centric American sport. Carr has been a top-15 quarterback for the bulk of his tenure and played some of the best football of his career during a tumultuous 2021 season.
"I know what I'm capable of, I know what our team's capable of, and I'm excited to see," Carr said. "Obviously, we have to earn that (playoff) spot. I don't know what we were, the fifth seed, or something like that. Hopefully we can earn more than that this year. That's always the goal. With this division, it'll be tough, but we're excited for that challenge."
With the addition of Davante Adams and new coach Josh McDaniels, Carr is better set up to succeed than in any other season with the Raiders.
