Week 14’s Thursday Night Football contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders was an instant classic.
It was quarterback Baker Mayfield‘s first game with the Rams, and after just two days of being able to prepare, he led them back from a 16-3 fourth-quarter deficit to a 17-16 win in the closing seconds.
While Mayfield was the hero for Los Angeles, there were a couple of goats for the Raiders, starting with the man who is often called the best wide receiver in the NFL.
Davante Adams’ Performance Left Something To Be Desired
Amidst a painful season for Las Vegas, Davante Adams has been having his usual strong season.
Coming into Thursday, he had 1,176 receiving yards and a league-high 12 receiving touchdowns through 12 games.
Against the Rams, he had 71 yards, but he only caught three of the seven passes he was targeted on.
Three of those incomplete passes came in the second half as the Raiders failed to build on their lead, and the last of those passes was intercepted by Rams defensive back Taylor Rapp.
🚨 THAT'S GAME 🚨
Taylor Rapp picks off Derek Carr as the Rams STUN the Raiders 🔥pic.twitter.com/rUtUXFYUfA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 9, 2022
Derek Carr Played Poorly
Coming into this season, there was a considerable number of Raiders fans who insisted that Derek Carr is an elite quarterback.
But his numbers coming into Thursday (a 62.3 percent completion rate, 20 touchdown passes, and a 92.1 passer rating) didn’t support that claim, and versus L.A., he provided even more evidence that he simply isn’t a next-level signal-caller.
He completed just 11 of 20 passes, failed to throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted twice.
An elite quarterback simply shouldn’t give up a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter, especially to a team that was 3-9 and had a fresh-off-the-plane new starting QB.
NEXT: Josh McDaniels Continues To Suffer Surreal Losses In 2022