KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Saints quarterback Derek Carr was having another tough time against the Chiefs even before he took a wicked shot from blitzing defensive back Chamarri Conner on Monday night, not only ending his game but also New Orleans’ hopes of a comeback.
Carr sustained an oblique injury on the hit with 9 1/2 minutes left and did not return to the 26-13 loss.
He finished with 185 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception, though a good chunk of the yardage came on his 43-yard scoring strike to Rashid Shaheed. Otherwise, the longtime Raiders quarterback struggled to deal with the Kansas City defence, finishing 18 of 28 while getting sacked once and hit eight more times.
None of the blows was worse than the one from Conner, who came nearly untouched right up the middle. The Saints were trailing 23-13 at the time, and they had fourth-and-8 at the Kansas City 41. Carr unloaded a pass deep down the sideline as he was hit, and it went right through the hands of undrafted rookie Mason Tipton for an incompletion.
Carr immediately grabbed his oblique as he stood up. And after a brief check on the sideline, he headed for the locker room.
His problems against the Chiefs dating to his days with the Raiders are well known. Carr dropped to 3-15 in 18 career starts, and he has won just once in eight tries since Steve Spagnuolo took over as Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s defensive coordinator.
After leading New Orleans to back-to-back blowouts of the Panthers and Cowboys to start the season, Carr had struggled in consecutive losses, throwing for 142 yards against the Eagles and 239 against the Falcons. His latest underwhelming night against a stingy Chiefs defense that held Alvin Kamara to 26 yards rushing left the Saints riding a three-game skid.
They face a tough turnaround, too, facing the Buccaneers on Sunday and the Broncos just four days later.
