Carr focused on Thursday collision with Chiefs

Oct 18, 2017 - 12:00 AM ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Derek Carr's big moment has arrived.

During an offseason of hype surrounding the Oakland Raiders following a 12-4 season and their first playoff berth since 2002, the quarterback insisted one of the reasons the team would stay grounded was the presence of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs, after all, swept the Raiders last season and ended up AFC West champs because of it.

It happened once in Oakland, a one-sided 26-10 win that ranked as the Raiders worst game of the season with Carr at quarterback, and again in Kansas City by a 21-13 margin.

You could make the argument that Carr, a Most Valuable Player contender, might have actually won the award had he played better against the Chiefs instead of completing 39-of-75 passes for 342 yards, with one touchdown and an interception..

Carr actually won the first game of his NFL career against the Chiefs as a rookie following an 0-10 start. It came on a Thursday night in Oakland, as is the case for Week 7.

He hasn't won since. Carr is 1-5 lifetime against the Chiefs, completing 55 percent of his passes for 1,215 yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions and a passer rating of 68.1. He's been sacked 18 times -- three times per game.

So Carr, who played Sunday with a fractured transverse process in his back in a 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, knows what he's up against.

Asked if Kansas City is the hill he needs to conquer, Carr hedged but only a little.

"Well, definitely this week," Carr said. "As cliche' as we can get, we have to go 1-0 this week. It's a division game, which really counts for two. You want to go out and beat one of the best teams in football. So all the challenges are there. Everything is pushing our back against the wall, but one thing I know we're going to do is come out on Thursday night and fight."

Carr said the Chiefs have been troublesome for many reasons, one of them being defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.

"They do a good job rushing the passer. They do a good job of stopping the run. They do a good job on the coverage end," Carr said. "Coach Sutton is a great coach. ... so much respect that he texted me when I got hurt last year. He's just a good dude. But this week I don't like him too much.

"He does a good job of making sure everyone is locked in. They're really smart. They don't do a lot so they can see route concepts. They can visualize things and get used to seeing those kinds of things."

The problem for the Raiders and Carr is that he and the offense weren't performing to the standard set a year ago even before the fracture in his back.

The Raiders have lost four straight games, three of them with Carr at quarterback. His passer rating of 93.9 was built largely on the first two games of the season -- both wins -- and the Raiders have been under 300 yards of total offense in each of the four-game losing streak.

A problem of late has been getting the ball downfield. One of the more explosive quarterbacks a year ago, Carr and the Raiders have been more dink and dunk of late.

"You know you definitely want more. We definitely want more," Carr said. "We're going to work and we're going to get more. We have a good group. I think we all believe that here. We have seen it. Now does that mean we're going to try and do anything differently or force things? Absolutely not. That's where you get in trouble. You have to just work hard and let it happen."

SERIES HISTORY: 114th regular-season meeting. Chiefs lead series, 60-51-2 including the last five in a row. Kansas City won 26-10 in Oakland and 21-13 in Kansas City a year ago to win the division title and relegate the Raiders to the wild card as both teams finished 12-4. The last Raiders win was 24-20 in Oakland in 2014 on a Thursday night for the first victory of the season after an 0-10 start. It is Derek Carr's lone win against the Chiefs.