Derek Carr heeds Jon Gruden's advice, flashes athleticism in Raiders win

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CARSON – Raiders quarterback Derek Carr scanned the field while running a bootleg to his right, searching for an opportunity to connect with Darren Waller. The tight end was well covered in the end zone. So was fullback Alec Ingold, running a shallower route.

Carr went with Plan C.

The quarterback took off running, angling hard for the pylon.

Raiders fans should’ve felt a lump in the throat. After all, they’ve seen this play before. It’s normally a tragedy.

Carr has made a break for it twice in the past few years, reaching out for the goal line only to fumble it out of the end zone.

“Honestly, I don’t want what went through my mind out there and for Coach Gruden to read it,” Carr said. “Let’s just say the thought was to protect the football and make sure I got in.”

Carr did exactly that, galloping into the end zone with the ball tucked firmly between his elbow and wrist. That capped an excellent first half and propelled the Raiders to a 24-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Gruden had to sit back and smile after that score. He has been begging and pleading for Carr to extend plays and flash his athleticism running with the football.

The quarterback is starting to heed such advice, with an important scramble late in last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars that could’ve secured victory had it been officiated correctly. Carr got into the end zone Sunday with a smart sprint that provided the margin of victory in a game the Raiders had to have.

“That was something that we were really looking for and are excited about,” Gruden said. “He is much better athlete than people realize and we have been encouraging him to do more things like that. It was a bootleg designed for Waller and a fullback. The Chargers did a nice job covering it, but Derek made a play. That’s what we need. You need to be a threat to run and that’s what he did today. It was a big play for us.”

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Carr ran directly to the stands, dominated by silver and black, and celebrated with fans a week after those in Oakland booed him off the field. He threw the ball into the crowd, partied with Waller and Ingold and high-fived Raiders fans along the north railing.

That was the highlight of an excellent day from the Raiders quarterback, who completed 26-of-30 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown in addition to his 3-yard touchdown run.

That big moment took a full sprint.

“I turned it up to fourth gear,” Carr said with a smile. “I still have more in me. I can shift it up to another gear.”

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