Derek Carr watch Week 12: Carr struggles as New Orleans Saints’ playoff hopes take a hit

Former Raiders quarterback had a chance to take command of the NFC South but fell flat in Atlanta

With Darren Waller still on injured reserve, we’ll just be taking a look at Derek Carr in the post-Week 12 edition of our weekly check-in on former Las Vegas Raiders. It was a tough showing for Carr and the New Orleans Saints as they failed to take command of the NFC South against the Atlanta Falcons.

Derek Carr

• Stats: 24/38, 304 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT
• Game result: 24-15, Saints lose

While Carr did throw for 300 yards, that was primarily because New Orleans was playing from behind for the majority of the game. Up 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and in the red zone with a chance to make it a two-possession lead, Carr threw a pick-six to safety Jessie Bates III and the Falcons held onto the lead for the rest of the game.

The Saints’ offense has been a problem lately as they’ve scored fewer than 20 points in their last two games, both losses, and it’s hard to say Carr isn’t the problem. As Josh Dubow of The Associated Press points out in the post/tweet below, New Orleans is struggling to put the ball in the endzone, especially with No. 4 at the helm. They’ve scored three touchdowns on their last 32 possessions and Carr hasn’t been on the field for any of them. He’s also the seventh player to throw more than 370 passes in the first 11 games of the season and score fewer than 10 touchdowns, per Dubow.

NFC South Standings

1. Atlanta 5-6

2. New Orleans 5-6

3. Tampa Bay 4-7

4. Carolina 1-10

This is what really hurts about the Saints’ loss. Had they won, they’d be two games ahead of the Falcons and Buccaneers heading into December. Instead, the Dirty Birds own the tiebreaker and get to play the New York Jets next week while New Orleans hosts Detroit. So, Carr and the Saints need to turn things around quickly as they’re running out of time.