Was Derek Carr's Pointless 3 Injury Play The Lowest IQ Play in NFL History?

The date is Sunday, December 8th, 2024. The vaunted 4-8 Saints led by stalwart QB Derek Carr face the 2-10 New York Giants in a battle for draft positioning, with the Saints having a longshot outside chance of a playoff honorable mention in the weakest division of the NFL. The Saints lead 14-11 facing 2nd and 10 on their own 30 yard line with 4:08 remaining in the 4th quarter. Derek Carr drops back, in this career defining moment, his immaculate reception, his 28-3 comeback, except he is already ahead 3, and can't find an open man, so he rushes to the right. As Carr approaches the sideline the New Yorks Giants vaunted defense, known across the league as the Temu curtain, closes in, determined to force a decisive third down and short. But undaunted, Carr refuses to settle for a manageable 3rd and 2 or 3rd and 3 in a largely meaningless game where his team already holds the lead. Carr knows he can't afford to risk giving the ball back to himself on a third down. Much less can he afford to give the ball to the Giants electric offense which led by Drew Lock, often compared to Drew Brees for having the same first name, whose offense has managed one touchdown in the last 56 minutes of regulation, and has 4 minutes remaining to light up the scoreboard. Carr is not sure the Saints defense can be trusted to stop Drew Lock in the 2 minute drill, but he knows in the incredibly unlikely scenario that the Saints go on a sudden win streak and the Bucs collapse allowing the Saints to sneak into the playoffs as an 8-9 or 7-10 wild card, they can go all the way. So Carr, known for his Corgi-like athleticism and agility, for the first time in his career, goes airborne hoping to achieve the critical decisive 1st down at his own 40, rather than risk facing 3rd and 3 against a 2-10 team with a 3 point lead. In a moment of legend and destiny straight out of an early 1990's Woody Harrelson sports epic, Carr bounds into the air with the grace and athleticism of Ed McMahon awarding a check from the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes, and lands just short of the 1st down, forcing 3rd and 1. Carr is injured on landing, leaves the game injured, the Saints fail to make the first down, and punt. But surprisingly, legendary franchise QB Drew Lock does not lead the Giants to a score, and the game ends with the Saints winning 14-11, the same score as when Carr made the brilliant decision to play outside his abilities in a critical moment.

Many players make bad decisions, although Derek Carr pretending he can be Taysom Hill or Alvin Kamara is one of the worst. But what followed, how wrong he was, is what makes this possibly the lowest IQ play in NFL History. In a relatively meaningless play in a lost season, Carr somehow managed to sustain 3 separate injuries. This wasn't one fluke injury, this was grandma crashed the car and everything is broken. First it was revealed that Carr broke his wrist/hand. Then that he had a concussion. And now it has been revealed that on the same play, Carr injured his throwing shoulder. That 3 injuries in a failed attempt to avoid 3rd and 3 in a probably meaningless game where his team already had the lead against a team unlikely to mount a comeback. This is not heroism, this is wrecklessness, taking an insane risk that can't often be repeated without certain injury, and choosing to take that risk at a moment that cannot possibly justify it. It's hard to explain the difference between heroism and wrecklessness but I will try. Jumping off pier into the water to save a kid is heroism. Jumping off the pier into the water to save a cell phone is wrecklessness. Swerving at 70mph on the highway to avoid an 18 wheeler truck is heroism. Swerving at 70mph on the highway to avoid a dragonfly is wrecklessness. A guard taking a charge from Shaq in the final seconds of a close playoff game is heroism. An aging guard taking a charge from Shaq with lots of time left in a random regular season game with a controlling lead is wrecklessness. Diving head first to get on the plane to Paris with your love before the doors close is heroism. Diving head first in the street to get on the bus before you have to wait for the next bus in 15 minutes is wrecklessness. What Carr did may have taken courage, but it was profoundly unwise, it was an extreme risk, beyond all his physical capabilities, in an ordinary and unremarkable moment, that could not possibly justify that risk, and which would not have any meaningful reward if successful. Best case, if Carr gets the first down,