RADIO
Heading into Week 8, the New York Jets boasted one of the top statistical defenses in the NFL. They ranked second in yards allowed per game at 283.2 and fourth in points allowed per game at 17.5. Preparing to face the defense for the 4-2 Jets should have been a daunting task--that was not the case for second-year quarterback Derek Carr, apparently. Carr, who has gotten off to a great start to the 2015 season and is in the midst of helping revive Oakland Raiders football, absolutely torched the Jets in Sunday's 34-20 victory.
While the Jets lost Ryan Fitzpatrick very early on in the first quarter to a hand injury, it may not have mattered. The Raiders hung 34 points on the Jets, finishing the day with 451 total yards and no turnovers. Basically, the Oakland offense kicked things into another gear, and were led by stellar days from both Carr and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
Carr wound up completing 23 of 36 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns, with zero interceptions. He finished with a quarterback rating of 130.9, and pretty much did whatever he wanted all game. Crabtree, who has quickly become a favorite target for Carr, caught seven balls for 102 yards and one touchdown on a whopping 12 targets. Simply looking at the numbers for Crabtree over the past few weeks will tell the story of the strong rapport that he and Carr have. Over the previous three games, Crabtree has seen a total of 29 targets, which has resulted in 17 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Both Carr and Crabtree are quickly becoming strong fantasy options. With defenses often looking to key-in on rookie phenom Amari Cooper, it's obvious that Crabtree is going to be a legitimate fantasy contributor moving forward. In almost all 12-team leagues, Carr has the look of a QB1, and has thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions in his past two games. As for Crabtree, he's hanging somewhere in the mid-WR2 range in most situations moving forward. Jack Del Rio and company are doing big things in Oakland, and all of the sudden the Raiders are an offense worth paying attention to in fantasy football.
