Derek Carr should find success against a blitz-heavy Cardinals defense in Week 2
- Went for 295 yards in Week 1
- Cardinals highest blitz rate in Week 1
- Carr excels against the blitz
The Las Vegas Raiders did not have the strongest offensive performance in Week 1, scoring only 19 points against the Los Angeles Chargers. A big part of their offensive failures could be attributed to three interceptions thrown by Derek Carr. However, with two games of the Chargers’ defense and two games of the Chiefs’ offense now under our belt, it is fair to say that the Chargers’ defense is going to be an incredibly strong unit and the Cardinals one of the worst in the league.
Coming into the season, it was widely believed that the Cardinals would boast one of the league’s worst secondaries, and one week into the season that proved correct. One of the biggest faults of the Cardinals’ defense is defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s incessant need to blitz. In Week 1 against the Chiefs, they blitzed Mahomes on 58.5% of dropbacks, leading to a 360-yard, five-touchdown performance.
Derek Carr is one of the best quarterbacks in the league against the blitz and actually performs better than normal against it. He also is a more successful deep passer against the blitz, completing 50% of downfield throws in 2021 against the blitz compared to just 38% normally. With that being said, if Vance Joseph does not adapt his strategy against the Raiders this week, I expect Carr to throw for over 285 passing yards.
Additional Bets:
Over 51.5 Total Points -110
Carr Longest Completion over 35.5 yards -110