Derek Carr, the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders, showed humility on Sunday by denying credit for his team's perfect record, stating fame or celebrity status is "fleeting" and that his goal is to "glorify" God no matter the result.
As reported by Christian Headlines, Carr completed 26 of 43 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns as Oakland beat Miami 31-28 in overtime to go to 3-0 for the first time since 2002.
Carr declined to accept credit for the win in a post-game interview with Fox that aired on national television. When told that he is playing with the poise of an MVP, the Raiders quarterback replied, "I've been through this before when I snapped my ankle with fans chanting MVP and all that kind of stuff."
"All of the self-glory - that stuff is fleeting," Carr remarked. "I've already been through that. God took me to a place that all I want to do is glorify Him, and wherever He's going, that's where I want to go. And so, if it's a win, awesome. If it's not, I'm still going to glorify Him."
With a perfect 3-0 record, the Raiders became the only team to have only played opponents who had at least 10 wins the previous season. The Raiders have won two of their games after going into overtime.
The Raiders recovered from a 14-0 loss on Sunday by scoring 25 consecutive points and then rebounded after the Dolphins tied the game.
"We knew what kind of team they were. They were coming off a hard [35-0] loss [to Buffalo]," Carr continued. "... Everybody has a game where it's not perfect, but we know what to expect, and it was a dogfight to the end. They did some things early. We were able to get our rhythm again and make some plays. We still haven't played our best football. And I think that's a frustrating thing and an exciting thing."
The Raiders are in their second season in their new home city of Las Vegas, but this is their first season playing in front of sold-out stadiums. 2020 was the setting for their first season in Las Vegas.
"I'm just thankful," Carr said. "This crowd, this city - they've really taken us in. It's been awesome."
One of the most underrated players
Carr was ranked by ESPN as one of the NFL's most underrated players across all positions. In his first two games of the 2021 season, he's reportedly thrown for over 400 yards each game on average.
Carr's third year under coach Jon Gruden's playbook saw him letting "loose more often," according to evaluators. In the year after that, Carr is tossing perfectly, and his Raider receivers are out-running two strong defenses - the Ravens and the Steelers - for huge gains.
He has reportedly been blitzed on 25 of his drop backs, which ranks him ninth in the NFL thus far. In addition, he's taking advantage of aggressive defenders by gaining significant ground.
Carr is also reportedly one of just three quarterbacks, along with Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady, to start the season with multiple games of 380 yards or more and multiple touchdowns under their belts.
Despite his great performance as a quarterback, Carr remains founded on God and says that it's the most important thing in his life.
"At any moment, any second, my football career could be taken away but my faith and relationship with God will never be taken from me," Carr says in his official website.
