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Derek Carr overcomes slow start with dramatic comeback

Derek Carr made some throws Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens that he would like to forget.

But he ended the first game in front of fans at Allegiant Stadium in a way he will want to remember forever.

It was an inconsistent performance that ended with the highest of highs on a floater to a wide-open Zay Jones for a 31-yard touchdown and 33-27 overtime victory.

“I hope this is a sign of things to come,” Carr said. “Who cares how we do it? Let’s just win. I do not care. We won the game. I’m celebrating that. It’s the only thing that matters.”

Carr finished 34 of 56 for 435 yards and two TDs, outdueling former MVP Lamar Jackson, but the game didn’t start the way Carr wanted after he sat out the entire preseason.

There were misfires and questionable decisions.

Carr was 2 of 10 in the first quarter for 22 yards, including a three-and-out where he misfired on three straight passes.

“There was a time if we weren’t perfect, we weren’t going to win the game,” he said. “Tonight, we weren’t perfect. The defense was able to keep us in the game and put us in a position where we had a chance to make a play to win the game.”

Carr made plenty of them. He rallied the team to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, only to have to lead another drive to tie it again after the Ravens kicked a go-ahead field goal with 37 seconds remaining.

Then, after a fluky interception in the end zone in overtime, Carr made one more big play to Jones for the win.

“I thought Derek Carr was awesome under some really tough circumstances tonight,” coach Jon Gruden said.

He wasn’t alone in the slow start.

Carr targeted tight end Darren Waller 19 times, but they couldn’t seem to get on the right page early. When Waller was open, the throws often sailed off-target. When Waller had a chance to make a play, he let a few get away.

“There’s passes that were tough that I felt I could have brought down,” Waller said. “ But you have to stick with it and talk to yourself positively and turn things around.”

Waller finished with 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown to help key the comeback and set up late heroics by Bryan Edwards, Henry Ruggs and Jones.

The rally marked the 22nd time Carr has led a fourth-quarter comeback win.

“I don’t even know the exact number, but it’s my favorite stat,” Carr said. “Those are earned wins. Some wins, you just hand the ball off and get the credit.”

He did much more than that Monday, shattering the franchise record for most passing yards in an opening game, previously held by Marc Wilson with 346 in 1986.

Carr, who praised the fans for creating a “college-like” atmosphere the first time they watched a regular-season game at Allegiant Stadium, said the key to overcoming the slow start was to not think too much about it.

“We started out rough, but nothing in my heart or in my mind changed,” he said. “You just think this next play is the one that’s going to win the game. It’s just a mindset.”

Carr is also at a point in which nothing that happens in a game matters except for the result.

On “Monday Night Football,” that was a victory to open the season.

“Were we perfect on offense? No. But we won the game,” Carr said. “I don’t care about being famous or any of that stuff. … I just want to win games and win a Super Bowl.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.

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