Derek Carr says Raiders must improve or Chiefs will ‘beat us by 50’
The Oakland Raiders weren’t in a great mood Sunday afternoon following a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of the New York Jets.
That loss denied the Raiders, 6-5, a chance to move into a tie with the Chiefs, 7-4, atop the AFC West heading into this Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Quarterback Derek Carr, who was pulled in the third quarter of Sunday’g game with the Raiders’ hopes of a comeback dashed, was later asked about facing the Chiefs.
“We better show up or they’re going to beat us by 50,” Carr told reporters. “They’re a really good football team, one of the best in the NFL, so hopefully our guys, myself included, when we show up to Arrowhead a week from now, we’re ready to go. And I believe we will be.”
The NFL noted the Raiders are the first team since the 1970 merger with seven-plus rushing and receiving touchdowns by rookies in the first 10 games of a season.
Following their loss to the Jets, which ended the Raiders’ three-game winning streak, coach Jon Gruden noted his team is in a rebuilding mode.
Oakland was 4-12 last season.
“We’re not the ’85 Bears,” Gruden told reporters. “We’re a developing football team. We’re developing our roster. We’re making strides. Today was a setback.
“We’re going to give our preparation (for the Chiefs) every ounce of diligence that we can. We know what we’re up against in Arrowhead. They’re coming off a bye week, so it’s not going to be easy.”
The Chiefs, 7-4, should be rested, while the Raiders will be facing a second straight week of traveling at least two time zones.
“We’ve got a tight group of players,” Gruden said. “We’ve got some very good veterans. We’re 6-5. It’s Thanksgiving week. It’s a long trip out here to New Jersey, we’ve got a long trip back to California.
“We’ve got a long trip next week and we’re going to be ready to play and hopefully we can play a lot better.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 11:36 AM.
