Derek Carr is the king of the audacious audibles in 2020
A byproduct of the NFL playing its games in front of few, if any, fans because of the novel coronavirus is that viewers can hear loud and clear all the quarterbacks hollering out their calls, cadences and credos.
Along with all those audibles wrapped in super-secret code.
And Derek Carr has been the biggest star of this pandemic phenomenon.
Carr came up short in his showdown with Patrick Mahomes on Sunday night at empty Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Raiders lost a 35-31 thriller to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the Raiders QB was the social media darling for his audacious audibles, especially when he hollered out “James Harden!” before handing off for a 6-yard gain.
Oh, the delicious irony of Carr not passing the ball on that play, something even the Raiders’ official Twitter account pointed out.
Other audibles included:
“Chris Mullin!”
“Pistol Pete!”
And, still scratching our heads over this one:
“Purple Walrus!”
Without crowds roaring, some salty language occasionally gets broadcast, like it did in the Dolphins-Broncos game Sunday.
With the play clock about to expire, Denver had to call timeout just 37 seconds into its first drive, and left guard Dalton Risner threw his hands up in frustration a dropped a f-bomb for all to hear.
Yes, even over the din of 5,351 fans, the last crowd that will be allowed into Empower Field at Mile High this season because of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Colorado.
But the most entertaining phrases are coming from the mouths of quarterbacks, and Carr is king.
In the first Raiders-Chiefs matchup of the season, Carr hollered out “Bruce Springsteen!” and “Joe Montana!”
In Las Vegas’ opener, he yelled out, “Tiger Woods!” and “Cindy Gruden!”, the wife of his his head coach.
That prompted Jon Gruden to joke, “I don’t know what he’s been up to at the line of scrimmage, but better keep my wife out of it from now on.”
Other calls worth mentioning from Week 11:
LONGSHOT BIG SHOTS
Two quarterbacks posted their first victories as pros Sunday after their coaches chose them over seasoned backups.
Ex-XFL signal-caller P.J. Walker threw for 258 yards and a score in leading Carolina past Detroit 20-0 for the Panthers’ first shutout since 2015.
Walker turned heads in the XFL by throwing 15 touchdown passes as the Houston Roughnecks won five straight before the league folded due to the pandemic. He signed with Carolina after Matt Rhule, his coach at Temple, accepted the Panthers job.
Rhule made Walker the starter over Will Grier less than two hours before kickoff when Teddy Bridgewater was officially ruled out with a knee injury. Rhule said Bridgewater “prepared like a monster” and wanted to play, but he didn’t feel right playing him, especially given Bridgewater’s history of knee injuries.
With Drew Brees out with fractured ribs, Taysom Hill rushed for two touchdowns and passed for 233 yards in his first NFL start at quarterback, and the Saints extended their winning streak to seven games with a 24-9 victory over the Falcons.
Coach Sean Payton gave Hill the nod over free-agent acquisition Jameis Winston and Hill responded by completing 18 of 23 passes and rushing for a team-high 51 yards.