Derek Carr Will Face Several Familiar Foes This Season As Quarterback Of The New Orleans Saints

Saints QB Derek Carr will square off against a few long-time nemeses this season.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr spent the first nine years of his NFL career in the AFC West. Carr was the fourth pick in the second round, the 36th overall choice, in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Fresno State by the Oakland Raiders.

An immediate starter for the Raiders as a rookie, Carr started 142 of a possible 146 regular season games over nine years with the team. He'd square off against AFC West opponents Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos twice a year over that span.

Now entering his second year at the helm of the New Orleans offense, Carr will face those familiar foes again in 2024. The Saints and each NFC South team will face each AFC West team once this season, along with another AFC foe.

Carr had a 63-79 record as a starter over nine years with some albeit bad Raiders teams, a winning percentage of just. 444. He completed 64.6% of his throws with 217 touchdowns, 99 interceptions, and 35,222 yards, and average of 248 passing yards per outing.

This year will be Carr's first game against the Raiders, but here's how he fared against the other AFC West teams on the Saints schedule this season.

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers

Sep 11, 2022; Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

• 9-9 overall record (.500)
• 4-5 away record
• 63.3% completion percentage
• 4,056 yards (225.3 avg.)
• 26 touchdowns
• 13 interceptions
• 1 300-yard game

New Orleans travels to play the Chargers in Los Angeles in Week 8. As dysfunctional as the Raiders have been over the years as an organization, the Chargers aren't far behind. They are hoping to reverse those fortunes behind QB Justin Herbert and new head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Since the Chargers relocated to Los Angeles in 2017, Carr has fared well in their venue. In six games in Los Angeles, he's averaged 243 passing yards with nine touchdown passes and six interceptions.

The Chargers are coming off a 5-12 record in 2023, their worst losing percentage since 2015 when still in San Diego. New Orleans has a 6-7 all-time record against the Chargers franchise, including 3-3 on the road.

Denver Broncos

Nov 15, 2020; Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the Denver Broncos / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

• 11-6 overall record (.647)
• 7-2 home record
• 65.7% completion percentage
• 3,981 yards (234.2 avg.)
• 19 touchdowns
• 7 interceptions
• 4 300-yard games

The Saints host the Broncos on a Thursday night to open up Week 7 NFL action. Among the many familiar faces on the Denver sideline will be Sean Payton, who coached the Saints from 2006 until his resignation after the 2021 season.

Carr has been extremely efficient throughout his career against the Broncos. He won his last five starts against them with the Raiders and has beaten them seven straight times outside of Denver. His yardage per game was just 205.2 in those home matchups, with seven touchdowns against four interceptions.

Denver is coming off an 8-9 finish last season. It was their eighth straight year without a playoff berth, with six of those ending in double-digit losses. The Saints have just a 3-9 all-time record against the Broncos, including 1-4 at home.

Kansas City Chiefs

Dec 12, 2021; Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass under pressure against the Kansas City Chiefs / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

• 3-14 overall record (.177)
• 1-8 away record
• 62.5% completion percentage
• 4,120 yards (242.4 avg.)
• 26 touchdowns
• 17 interceptions
• 2 300-yard games

New Orleans travels to Kansas City to face the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions for a Monday night matchup in Week 5. The Chiefs have advanced to the Super Bowl in four of the last five years, winning three of those trips.

Most teams have struggled against the Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid combination, but Carr with the Raiders certainly had problems. One of his four career 400-yard games (417) came in a lights-out performance during a 31-30 upset of the Chiefs in 2017. He also threw for 347 yards with three touchdowns and an interception during a 40-32 win at Kansas City during the 2020 season.

Aside from that outlier, Carr has averaged 207 yards passing with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in his other eight trips to Arrowhead Stadium. Hopefully with a better supporting cast around him with the Saints than he ever had with the Raiders, he'll fare better on this trip to Kansas City.

The Chiefs are coming off an 11-6 mark in 2023. Their dominance of the AFC includes seven straight division championships and six consecutive trips to their conference title game. New Orleans has a 5-7 all-time record against Kansas City, including a 2-5 mark on the road.

Carr vs. AFC West

Aug 13, 2023; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws to tight end Juwan Johnson (83) against the Kansas City Chiefs / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

• 23-29 overall record (.442)
• 63.8% completion percentage
• 12,157 yards (233.8 avg)
• 71 touchdowns
• 37 interceptions
• 7 300-yard games

The Saints face three of the four AFC West teams in a 21-day span between October 6 and October 27. Carr will have to wait a bit longer before facing his former team. New Orleans will host the Raiders on December 29, the next-to-last week of the season.

As a franchise, the Saints are 21-30-1 all-time against the current four teams in the AFC West. Mostly because of the Chiefs, Derek Carr actually has a worse winning percentage, completion rate, and passing average against the AFC West than he does the rest of the NFL. In his first season with New Orleans, Carr completed 68.4% of his throws for 3,878 yards (228.2 avg.) with 25 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

Kansas City is again expected to run away with an otherwise weak AFC West division. NFC games hold greater importance for the Saints in terms of tiebreakers. If projections are accurate, however, than New Orleans and Derek Carr must perform well against the AFC West division this season.