Following a shutout loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the Raiders desperately need to get their season on track before playoff hopes are out of the question. However, sitting in last place of the AFC West with a 2-5 record, time may be running out. If head coach Josh McDaniels and the Raiders have any hope left, they will need quarterback Derek Carr at full strength. According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a back injury has slowed the veteran signal-caller for some time now and may explain his recent poor play.

Per Bonsignore, Carr's injury was reaggravated in the 24-0 loss to the Saints, an ailment that has seen Carr listed on the Raiders' injury report the last two weeks. “Did it affect anything in my mechanics or something like that? Of course,” said Carr. “It's something I'm battling through and dealing with.”

McDaniels shared that the Carr injury partially impacted the decision to play backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss, adding that “at that point, the game, the score and the time remaining in the game kind of dictated being smart with that situation.”

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Fortunately, Carr believes he is getting healthier and doing “better this week than I did this time last week.”

The Raiders are set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in a must-win Week 9 game. But will Derek Carr's injury hamper the Raiders' efforts again? Can the McDaniels-led offense secure the do-or-die victory the team so desperately needs?