by AP Photo/Don Wright
When six-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams forced the Green Bay Packers to trade him to the Las Vegas Raiders during the offseason, there was an expectation that reforming his connection with collegiate teammate Derek Carr would spark offensive fireworks would.
While the duo showed brilliant flashes throughout the season, Adams didn’t produce with the consistency we’d grown accustomed to and he was once again almost non-existent, registering just two catches for 15 yards in the Raiders’ 13-10 Loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.
Carr had a miserable performance, throwing for 174 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on a 16-of-30 passing. All three of his picks came in the second half, and his last came after Pittsburgh took their first lead of the game with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
NFL Twitter wasn’t happy with Carr for not engaging Adams on offense during the disappointing loss:
Paul Gutierrez @PGutierrezESPN
#Raiders WR Davante Adams’ two catches tonight came on passes 3 and -8 yards down. Carr is 0-of-5 and targets Adams on passes thrown more than 3 yards down. By @ESPNStatsInfo
Bill Barnwell @billbarnwell
I miss the decade-old connection between Derek Carr and Davante Adams https://t.co/5C2DMRPheS
Eli Berkowits @BookOfEli_NFL
Davante Adams really 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 the #Packers to leave for… pic.twitter.com/FSD1dlJxea
NFL memes @NFL hate memes
Davante Adams: *candidly*
Derek Carr: pic.twitter.com/IKjiCMTRBQ
Saturday’s outing marks Adams’ third straight game without a touchdown and with fewer than 100 yards, 10 goals or five catches. A player of his caliber should never be such an inconsequential factor to a team that is now on the verge of exiting the playoffs.
The Raiders (6-9) will need Carr to make more use of Adams if they hope to find success when they return to action on New Year’s Day against the San Francisco 49ers (11-4), who have one of the best defenses in the have NFL .
