Carr only reinforces why Raiders should be studying QBs in offseason

How the Raiders address the quarterback position — even if they retain Derek Carr — will be the biggest topic of the offseason as the team shifts from Oakland to Las Vegas.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them take a similar approach to what the Chiefs did with Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes in 2017. Smith was the incumbent, but Kansas City traded up to select Mahomes 10th overall.

Smith remained the starter throughout the ’17 season, with Mahomes getting one start in the season finale. The next offseason, when the Chiefs were confident enough to go with Mahomes, Smith was traded to the Redskins, and Mahomes rewarded them with an MVP season.

One play in Sunday’s loss showed again why Carr isn’t Jon Gruden’s type of quarterback, at least not right now.

1. What was the play that reinforced the notion that the Raiders won’t be relying on Carr long term?

It happened with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. The Raiders faced third-and-16 at the Denver 19-yard line training 16-3. A decent gain would have allowed Gruden the chance to go for a first down on fourth down. Instead, Carr immediately checked it down to tight end Derek Carrier for just 4 yards.

What Carr missed was running back DeAndre Washington wide open in the left flat with a chance to score, or at least to pick up enough yards to allow Gruden to go for it.

Carr’s a good quarterback who could perhaps be very good with better weapons around him. But Carr’s propensity to take the easy play instead of elevating his team and making a play in a big spot is maddening sometimes. Bet it is for Gruden as well.

2. Why was the Patriots’ loss to the Dolphins doubly bad?

Not only did New England’s stunning loss to the Dolphins blow the No. 2 seed and a bye in the AFC playoffs — none of the Patriots’ six Super bowl titles came without a bye the first weekend of the playoffs — but now New England drew the worst possible matchup after Tennessee locked up the sixth seed.

The Titans are the team in the AFC that no one wants to see. They’ve won seven of their last 10 and bell cow running back Derrick Henry appears fully healthy after posting 211 yards on 32 carries and three touchdowns in the 35-14 win over the Texans. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill needs to have a good running game to function, and Henry and Dion Lewis can provide that behind a good line.

Then you have former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel as the head coach, and former Patriots and Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees coaching the defense. Both know well how to beat the Patriots, and did it last season, 34-10 in Week 10 at Nashville.

If the Patriots had defeated the Dolphins, they could have rested, hoped San Diego upset Kansas City and waited for the Buffalo/Houston winner. Now the Titans could be springing the upset in Foxborough, which hasn’t hosted a wild-card game since 2009, when the Ravens won 33-14.

3. Why did the Browns fire head coach Freddie Kitchens and who would be the best replacement?

Death, taxes and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam firing and hiring a new coach. These are the things you can count on in life. Now that Freddie Kitchens has been fired, Haslam will hire his fifth coach in less than eight years of owning the team.

That pretty much says it all when it comes to the plight of the Browns, but everyone knew Kitchens was overmatched. Instead of just trying to find a way to keep him as offensive coordinator under a different head coach, now quarterback Baker Mayfield will have to learn a whole new system — never a good thing for a passer’s long-term success. The Browns had no discipline and no structure. Now they’ll be looking for that.

The best fit for the Browns is former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. It seems like general manager John Dorsey is safe, and he should be. The problem is the on-field operation.

McCarthy worked very closely with Dorsey in Green Bay for many years, and many of the Browns’ front office personnel have Packers ties as well. So there would be good synergy between McCarthy and the front office.

Plus, McCarthy is a great developer of quarterbacks. He learned his lessons well from the end of his Green Bay tenure and is ready to take his operation to a new level.

4. Why did it sound like Philip Rivers played his last game for the Chargers on Sunday?

The veteran quarterback, who has played 16 seasons in San Diego and now Los Angeles, got pretty emotional after team’s 31-21 loss to the Chiefs dropped them to 5-11.

“I think I can say I gave it everything I had … doing it with so many guys over 14 years,” said Rivers, who will be a free agent in the offseason. “And going to the locker room, win or lose and I could say, “Dadgum it, we fell short,’ or we won. I couldn’t have tried any harder.”

Rivers was 31 of 46 for 281 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Chiefs. The fourth pick in the 2004 NFL draft made eight Pro Bowls and went 123-101 as a starter and 5-6 in the playoffs.

Rivers has said he doesn’t plan to retire.

4. How did Jameis Winston make history on Sunday, and not in a good way?

Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston couldn’t have delivered a more fitting ending to his 2019 season in a 28-22 season-ending loss to the Falcons.

Winston became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 30 touchdowns and at least 30 interceptions in a single season and, as a bonus, he also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw seven pick sixes in a single season. And the way it happened was the stuff of Disney sports movies.

On the first snap of overtime, Winston’s 5-yard pass over the middle was so late that linebacker Deion Jones easily jumped it for a 27-yard return that gave us some inglorious history.

The postgame press conferences were nearly as good.

“When you look at my numbers, I’m balling,” Winston said. “I just gotta stop giving it to the other team. … I gotta get better.”

Coach Bruce Arians, who has to weigh the fifth-year option or contract extension for Winston in the offseason said, “There’s so much good and so much outright terrible” in terms of evaluating Winston and the future.

Greg A. Bedard covers the NFL for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at gbedard@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GregABedard on Twitter.