Raiders-Patriots Week 15 preview: Comparing Josh McDaniels’ quarterbacks

With the Las Vegas Raiders hosting the New England Patriots on Sunday (kickoff is at 1:05 p.m. PT), let’s compare the statistics of the recent quarterbacks under Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels, of course, came to Las Vegas this season after being the Patriots’ longtime offensive coordinator.

2019, Tom Brady

This was their final season together as quarterback and offensive coordinator/quarterback coach. They spent 13 seasons in two different stints in those roles and won four Super Bowl titles in that time period. Brady completed 60.8 percent of his passes in 2019, his second lowest in his time with McDaniels. Brady hasn’t been below 65.7 percent in his three season in Tampa Bay since then. Overall, it was a subpar season for the GOAT as he threw for 4,057 yards, 24 touchdown passes and had a quarterback rating of 88. All of those mark were below average. His first two seasons in Tampa Bay have been much better.

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

2020, Cam Newton

The Patriots replaced Brady with Newton, the former NFL MVP who was in his final season as a true NFL starter. It didn’t go great for Newton in New England as they went 7-8 in his 15 starts. He completed 6.58 percent of his passes, which was strong, but the rest of his numbers were pedestrian with 2,657 yards thrown, eight touchdown passes and he had a quarterback rating of 82.9 under McDaniels.

2021, Mac Jones

The first-round pick from Alabama started all 17 games as a rookie and went 10-7. He had a strong season under McDaniels, better than his second NFL campaign. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdown passes and he had a quarterback rating of 92.5. It was impressive. He hasn’t been awful this season (his completion percentage is a strong 68.2), but he has taken some steps back without McDaniels.

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2022, Derek Carr

We all know there has been up and downs for Carr this season. But considering his recent season’s performances and the addition of his college teammate, superstar receiver Davante Adams, it’s fair to say Carr’s first year under McDaniels has been underwhelming. With four games remaining, Carr is on pace to be well below his top years in most categories. He is on pace to throw for 4,074 yards, which would be more than seven hundred fewer yards that he threw for last season, the first season with 17 regular-season games. His completion percentage is just 62 percent and would be the third lowest of his nine-season NFL career, besting only his first two seasons. He completed 68.4 percent of his passes in 2021. His quarterback rating is 89.4, which would be his third lowest mark of his career and lowest since 2019. It was 94 last season and more than 100 the two previous seasons,. On the bright side, Carr is on pace to throw 26 touchdown passes, which would be his second highest total. He threw 27 touchdown passes in 2020. But in total, especially after adding Adams, Carr is on pace for a disappointing season, numbers wise.

Conclusion:

It hasn’t been a great run for McDaniels as he has worked with four different starters caused by Brady’s departure from New England. Truly, the only impressive season in this four-year stretch was by Jones last year. Otherwise, it’s been pretty lackluster for this noted quarterback guru in recent seasons.