Was Derek Carr's Pointless 3 Injury 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 the Giants electric offense which led by Drew Lock, often compared to Drew Brees for having the same first name, who offense has managed one touchdown in the last 56 minutes of regulation, and has 4 minutes remaining to light up the score board. 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 is 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.