Josh McDaniels’ new stint as a Head Coach didn’t get off to a good start. Despite an overall positive offseason and adding some interesting pieces, the Las Vegas Raiders were winingless entering Week 4 of the NFL season.
The Raiders blew a huge lead vs. the Arizona Cardinals and dropped two close games to the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans. Decision-making and clock management were quite questionable for the most part.
That’s why getting that first win was such a massive breath of fresh air for the Raiders. And that’s also why Derek Carr took the time to vow his support and confidence for McDaniels and his staff.
NFL News: Derek Carr Says Win ‘Validates’ Josh McDaniels As A Coach
“I think for him, he’s trying to preach the right thing,” Carr told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He’s trying to teach us how to do it and the way that he’s seen success. I think now it validates some of the things he emphasized, and I would let him talk about what he emphasized. But the things he emphasized in the game, we did it in practice and then we did it in the game, and we won.”
“I think it validates it for him,” the QB added. “I didn’t even think about it being against his former team, but I gave him the ball at the end. I kept that for him and I said, ‘I know that you got a lot of wins at the other place, but it’s your first one here.’ I was able to do that, and that was a special moment for me to be able to hand that to him.”
Making the playoffs after a 0-3 start is a complicated task, to say the least, let alone in football’s toughest division. But the Raiders have plenty of talent on both sides of the field, so maybe this was just the catalyst they needed to get back on track.