Ryan Clark left upset by Derek Carr’s Saints offensive struggles vs Jaguars on TNF Week 7
Is Derek Carr not as promising a franchise savior as he had been hoped to be? On Thursday, his New Orleans Saints hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in their second of three consecutive games against the AFC South and fifth in eight against the AFC.
Unfortunately, the former Las Vegas Raider struggled to get any meaningful offense. ESPN analyst and former safety Ryan Clark made sure to make his feelings known:
Saints made comeback vs Jaguars despite Derek Carr's struggles
The first three quarters of the game could have not gone any worse for the Saints. They allowed a pair of Travis Etienne Jr. touchdown rushes in the first half, while their only response each time was a Blake Grupe field goal.
To exacerbate things, Brandon McManus also scored a field goal just before half-time.
To start the third quarter, Grupe hit another field goal, only for the Jaguars to seemingly blow the game wide open when Foly Oluokun intercepted Derek Carr and scored a touchdown:
However, the fourth quarter was something else entirely, as the Saints found the endzone twice. First, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders masterfully cleared the way for this walk by Taysom Hill:
The Saints defense then pulled off a turnover on downs, putting Carr back on the field for the game-tying drive:
He did not disappoint this time, finding Michael Thomas for six, and Alvin Kamara for two:
However, Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk delivered on a 44-yard connection to restore the Jaguars' advantage:
Cornerback Montaric Brown confirmed the result by denying Chris Olave at the endzone with 21 seconds remaining.
What did Derek Carr say about Saints' loss to Jaguars?
While the game indeed came down to one play, Derek Carr refuses to dwell on it. He told the press backstage:
"Our job as brothers, as family and teammates, is to go rally around. I have been in that moment where you miss a throw, throw a bad pick, or something; (and) you feel like everyone hates you.
"Our job is, no matter the situation, good or bad - put your arm around and keep going. Keep on pushing."
Next for the Saints are the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 29.