How impressive is Derek Carr’s streak of 325 passes without an interception?

Don’t look now, but the Oakland Raiders have played much better football recently as has quarterback Derek Carr. Oakland has won three of their last six games, during which Carr hasn’t thrown an interception. He has thrown 325 pass attempts without an interception, a streak that started 10 games ago.

Some have been hesitant to give Carr praise, due in part because the team lost the first four games of the streak and in part because there has been several instances of DB drops that could have ended the streak many times.

Pro Football Focus’s Steve Palazzolo posted footage of Carr’s close calls during his streak.

Derek Carr seems to somewhat agree with this take.

“I hit a DB [defensive back] in the chest in Cincinnati,” Carr said this week with a laugh. “Stuff happens man, you know what I mean? Stuff happens. Actually, I remember Tom Brady talking about it when he was doing his little streak and he said a lot of things have to go right for that kind of stuff to happen. It’s not all me, but during the game I don’t think about it to be honest with you.”

In addition, Pro Football Focus released a stat a few weeks ago, after the Pittsburgh Steelers win, that Carr had the fifth-quickest time to throw in the league at 2.43 seconds and that he has logged 53 check down passes this season which led the NFL.

Through Week 14, Carr ranked dead last in the league among starting quarterbacks with an average depth of target of just 7 yards down the field according to PFF.

Based upon the recent statistics and video highlights, Carr’s streak could be built upon conservative quarterback play and bad-hands by opposing defensive backs. It might be. But it might be more than that too.

There are some impressive quarterbacks at the top of the list of longest streaks, Rodgers’s recently ended, giving Carr the longest active streak:

Aaron Rodgers - 402

Tom Brady - 358

Derek Carr - 325

Alex Smith - 312

Bernie Kosar - 308

Drew Brees - 305

At the moment, Carr is third on the list all-time and has a chance to pass Brady this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.

There are probably countless throws by the three mentioned above that could have easily been intercepted during their streaks as well. Any streak of that length is going to need luck at certain points.

PFF, the same company that has released stats that could be interpreted as downplaying Carr’s steak, also show how Carr’s level of play has improved recently.

Let’s also not forget the adversity Carr has faced. He has seen his top wide receiver shipped off in Amari Cooper, Brandon LaFell go down with an achilles injury, Martavis Bryant never materialized and also head to IR, and the offensive line has battled injuries the entire season all while starting two rookies at the tackle positions leading to Carr being sacked 48 times this season (third-most in the league).

So, how impressed are you with Carr’s streak without an interception?