BakoSaint

If Derek Carr had played 17 games in 2025, the Saints would have finished 5-12 and picked #9 overall. It would be a different world. Derek Carr's injury totally changed the course of the season.

Consider this:

The Saints beat 0 playoff teams with Derek Carr at QB. The Saints beat 0 playoff teams without Derek Carr at QB. 6 of 7 teams the Saints played while Derek Carr was out were playoff teams, who Carr showed no ability to beat either, so the Saints would still have lost those 6 games without Carr.

Derek Carr won 0 games without Alvin Kamara at RB. The Saints one loss against a non-playoff team without Carr at QB was against the Raiders. Kamara, McCoy, Hill, Olave, and Shaheed also missed that game and the Saints lost 25-10 while allowing the Raiders to run at will for 5.8 yards a carry and 115 yards for their lead backs best game of the season. Carr could not have played run defense and thrown to MVS enough to overcome a 25-10 deficit without any weapons.

Considering that Carr could not beat playoff teams and could not win without Kamara, Carr would have gone 0-7 in the games he did not play. So, Carr's injury dramatically altered the course of the Saints season from going 5-12 to going 5-12.

jnormand

Dude I’m not trying to be rude but you probably could’ve just put this in your other thread about how you don’t like DC. I’m inclined to agree with your points but why another thread?

BakoSaint

I considered that but I think its a different point and nobody else is posting anything. It seems like an interesting topic to debate whether Carr's injuries had any effect on our record. I don't think they did. Right after the injuries happened we thought they had an effect, because our offense came out weak against two teams that struggled in 2023, the Chargers and Broncos. But it turns out the Chargers and Broncos both made the playoffs this year and allowed the two lowest points against on the season among all NFL teams. In hindsight, losing Carr had no effect.