Silver Minings: Ron Rivera wants to get pressure on Derek Carr

The Las Vegas Raiders are in the playoff hunt for the third year in a row going into Week 13. Fans hope they can finish the season strong and turn the corner — the first step in defeating the Washington Football Team in their home stadium.

On Thanksgiving, Derek Carr is coming off a 373-yard performance vs. the Dallas Cowboys. According to Sports Radar, the offensive line created pockets for the quarterback to be comfortable, allowing a 19% pressure rate on the day.

Ron Rivera wants that to change on Sunday afternoon. He believes pressure on Carr is the key to success in slowing down their explosive attack.

“Well, probably the biggest thing as you’re asking is we’ve got to get pressure on the quarterback,” Rivera said. “We can’t allow a guy like that to stand back. He’s got a good arm, and he sees the field very well. That’s the one thing you see. He does see the field very well. So you’ve got to keep him under pressure so that he doesn’t see the field as well as he liked to. And again, you got to be physical with the receivers. They’ve got a good group of receivers that are playmakers. The big thing we have to do is we’ve got to do is, again, get after the quarterback more so than anything else.”

This season, Carr has faced struggles while under pressure. He is 22nd in passer rating with four interceptions according to sports radar. However, he is tied second for completions of 20 air yards or more with eight.

It creates a hit-or-miss formula for Jack Del Rio’s defense against his former quarterback. It makes for an exciting matchup on Sunday.

In other Raiders’ links:

• What are the WFT players saying?: The WFT players and coaches gave their thoughts on the Raiders before Sunday.
• The Athletic deeps dive into the Del Rio: Vic Tafur looks at why Del Rio had this game circled when he saw the schedule.
• Yannick Ngakoue finds home and peace: Las Vegas Review-Journal profiles Yannick Ngakoue.