Red-zone woes are ‘frustrating’ Derek Carr

One of the big reasons why the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense is stalling is a lack of production in the red zone.

It haunted the Raiders once again Sunday in a 17-15 home loss to the Washington Football Team. If the Raiders, who are 6-6 after losing four of the past five games, don’t make the playoffs, the issues inside the opponent’s 20-yard line will be remembered as a big reason why.

Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr admitted after Sunday’s game that then lingering red-zone problems are bothering him.

“Very frustrating. Field goals, they’re not going to win games,” Carr said. “You got to get touchdowns, especially with teams that we got coming up playing. We’re going to need touchdowns in order to win those games. Very frustrating, especially with how close some of those plays were.”

Carr missed some throws (including on a two-point conversion attempt) in the red zone that led to the issues. The Raiders are averaging 4.47 points a drive in the red zone, which is the fourth worst rate in the league.

Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson has attempted 30 field goals, which is the second most in the NFL this year. However, he has attempted 25 PATs, which is the 20th most rate in the NFL. As Carr noted, field goals aren’t going to win games.

Carr again used the word “frustrating” when discussing the Raiders’ recurring problems on offense.

“That’s frustrating. You know cause you try to emphasize, you try to fix it, and you go and it doesn’t happen,” Carr said. “It happens one time, and it doesn’t happen every time. Each play tells its own story. It’s frustrating, I wish I could stand up here and break down the whole thing. Put the film on and we break down each little detail that matters. Each play has its own story, each play, each series. To answer your question, it is frustrating that you emphasize something, it looks good one week, then the other week, and then it’s not. We just got to keep working. As hard as it is to say that for me, that’s the only choice that I have.”

At some point, Carr and the Raiders offense is going to figure it, right?