Derek Carr traveled the high road when asked about the verbal blast he took from Joey Bosa in the aftermath of the Los Angeles Chargers' 28-14 win on Monday night, but that doesn't mean the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback wasn't angered.
He's human, after all, and beyond that a competitive pro athlete, so it's only natural that being characterized as a shrinking violet in the face of a good pass rush would get under his skin.
"I just thought it was unfortunate that he'd even think to say it. Maybe he's just trying to get under my skin, which he did piss me off, so good job for that," Carr told reporters Wednesday. "But that's not a bad thing either."
To recap: The Chargers defense dominated what had previously been a potent Raiders offense in the first half, including a strip-sack by Bosa. Carr endured four sacks on the night, and while he rebounded with a strong second half, it wasn't enough for a comeback win. Bosa had this to say about Carr in his post-game comments Monday night:
"We knew once we hit him a few times, he really gets shook," Bosa said. "And you saw on [Christian Covington's] sack, he was pretty much curling into a ball before we even got back there. Great dude, great player ... but we know once you get pressure on him, he kind of shuts down."
On Tuesday, Raiders coach Jon Gruden dismissed the remark, and while Carr admitted being perturbed, he did much the same on Wednesday.
"I love Joey. He knows that. We've gone back and forth talking crap],” Carr said, [per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "He's entitled to his opinion. Almost like he watched the game in reverse ... we'll see them again."
Indeed, the AFC West rivals will square off again to close the season in Week 18 on Jan. 9. By then, barring a photo finish for the AFC playoff field, only one of them is likely to be holding bragging rights.
Carr wasn't all Bosa sounded off on after the game, as he also had some harsh words for the officiating over what he felt was a missed holding call on Raiders rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood.
