KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — 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 opportunistic Kansas City defense, finishing 18 of 28 while getting sacked once and hit eight more times.
“It wasn’t even the hit, honestly,” Carr said of his injury. “It was just when I dropped back and torqued to throw.”
Carr plans to have an MRI exam on Tuesday to determine the extent of the oblique problem.
“I asked if there was anything we could do about it and there was not enough time,” he said.
Conner came nearly untouched right up the middle.
The Saints were trailing 23-13 and had fourth-and-8 at the Kansas City 41 when Carr dropped back to pass, and Conner came on a tear. Carr unloaded a pass deep down the New Orleans sideline as he was hit, but it went right through the hands of undrafted rookie Mason Tipton for an incompletion that ended the drive.
Carr immediately grabbed his oblique as he stood up. And after a brief check on the sideline, he headed for the locker room.
It didn't help his cause playing behind a patchwork offensive line made thin by injuries.
“Any time you’ve got new guys playing next to each other there is a learning curve. That’s just a fact,” Carr said.
Yet Carr's problems against the Chiefs date to his days with the Raiders. He dropped to 3-15 against them, and he has won just once in eight tries since Steve Spagnuolo took over as Chiefs defensive coordinator. Carr is also 1-9 in Arrowhead Stadium, only the 12th quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger to lose that many road starts in a single stadium.
He has also struggled since leading New Orleans to back-to-back blowouts of the Panthers and Cowboys to start the season. Carr threw for just 142 yards against the Eagles and 239 against the Falcons, and the poor play has been reflected on the scoreboard: New Orleans averaged 45.5 points in its first two games and has averaged 16.3 over its past three.
The Saints face a tough turnaround, too, facing the Buccaneers on Sunday and the Broncos just four days later.
“We’re not going to let this thing become a snowball. You can’t,” Carr said. "The end result is not what we want, but our process and the way we work can’t change.”
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws over Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Mike Pennel (69) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Manchester City’s stunning slump continued Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers at Villa Park consigned the four-time defending champion to a ninth defeat in 12 games in a season that is unravelling. Pep Guardiola’s team has won just once during that run.
“We have to stay positive, even though it’s difficult, and we have to keep working hard,” City striker Erling Haaland said.
Phil Foden pulled a goal back for City in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to spark a late comeback.
City dropped to sixth in the standings — nine points below leader Liverpool, having played two games more. Villa climbed to fifth.
City’s remarkable fall shows little sign of stopping, with Guardiola admitting last week that he had not been good enough to turn his team’s form around.
Defeat meant the once-dominant City is without a win in any of its last eight away games in all competitions. While it looks unlikely to win a fifth-straight title, a place in the top four and Champions League qualification could also be in jeopardy.
“We concede the goals we don’t concede in the past, we (don’t) score the goals we score in the past,” Guardiola said. “We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”
Only once under Guardiola has City managed to win the title when losing six times in the league. That was in the 2020-21 campaign, when it lost two of its last three games, having already been confirmed champion.
City lost nine times when Liverpool won the title in '19-20, but its sixth defeat didn't come until the February of that campaign. Guardiola also lost six times in the league in his first season in English soccer in '16-17 and City finished third in the standings.
The latest defeat could have been even more emphatic against a dominant Villa. Duran scored his sixth goal in as many starts in the 16th minute from Rogers’ assist.
Duran had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half and Rogers hit the post before doubling Villa’s lead in the 65th.
Foden's goal in the third minute of added time came too late for City.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, center, and players leave the field at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Jhon Duran celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's Phil Foden reacts after Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
