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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has faced a number of great teams in his eight-year NFL career. But the former second-round pick had incredibly high praise for the Dallas Cowboys, who he defeated in Week 12.
After the game, CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson talked to the Raiders quarterback about the game. Carr was a big reason for their overtime victory, throwing for 373 yards and taking advantage of the refs calling four pass interference penalties against the Cowboys.
Derek Carr has high praise for the 2021 Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys played a competitive game without their top two wide receivers, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Despite this, Michael Gallup, Tony Pollard, and Cedrick Wilson provided the Cowboys with enough juice to give them a shot at a win.
An impressed Carr told CBS after the game,
"That is one of the best football teams I've played in my eight years. They're extremely talented and they're not even at full strength. They've got a good scheme, they've got some good players but I'm just thankful for the guys that played today, man. What a day, we needed that one for sure."
That's extremely high praise from Derek Carr, who has faced the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning throughout his career. He was correct in saying this was a must-win game for the Raiders.
In the three games since their bye week, they've gone 0-3 and haven't scored more than 16 points. The loss of Henry Ruggs III (from a pure football perspective) has left a void for Carr to target on the outside.
Derek Carr elevated his game to another level against the Cowboys. Despite Darren Waller leaving the game due to injury, he made things work with the likes of DeSean Jackson and Hunter Renfrow.
The game had a personal stake for Carr, who grew up a fan of the Cowboys. The victory was much-needed as the Raiders improved to 6-5.
You could hear the gratitude in Carr's voice after the game when he said,
"It does feel good, it kind of gave me goosebumps, I'm not gonna lie. When that kick went through I had a lot of memories as a kid. Seeing little kids wearing my jersey, I did the same thing with Deion Sanders. I'm blessed to be here and experience this for sure."
Derek Carr makes Raiders history
Lost amidst the officiating drama and overtime finish was Carr making franchise history. The 30-year-old became the first quarterback in Raiders history to throw for 30,000 passing yards.
Derek Carr's career with the Raiders hasn't been perfect. But his performance against the Cowboys was one of the highlights of his career.
The Cowboys are legitimate Super Bowl contenders despite three losses in four weeks.
Once they get healthy, they have a talented enough roster to compete with anyone. But even without Cooper, Lamb and Demarcus Lawrence, the Cowboys gave the Raiders everything they could handle.
But this week, Carr has earned the right to celebrate ahead of their Week 13 game against the Washington Football Team.
