Derek Carr needs some new friends because he doesn't have any on the Saints

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us this morning. We appreciate you giving us some of your time today. Hope you had an excellent weekend.

I can tell you who did not: Derek Carr. That man is going through it today.

First of all, he made NFL history in the worst kind of way. After falling to the lowly Carolina Panthers (!!!!) on Sunday, Carr is the first quarterback in league history to lose to 31 different teams. Thirty one! Folks, that’s really hard to do. In that sense, Carr has accomplished a lot.

Second, the man’s coach is gone now, too. Dennis Allen was the guy who believed in Carr in New Orleans. Now, he’s out! Another Carr coach gone in the middle of the season. It’s not all his fault — injuries have played a huge part in the Saints’ downfall. But still. It’s a tough situation to be in.

What’s worse is that, even after the loss, Carr’s no-good, awful, very bad day somehow got worse. He just doesn’t seem to have many friends in New Orleans these days. Everyone is roasting the man.

His former teammate, Michael Thomas, took to Twitter to absolutely lambast Carr. He wasn’t happy after Carr threw an ill-advised pass to Chris Olave, which injured the receiver gravely. It’s hard to blame Thomas for feeling the way he does here. But still! His words were pretty harsh.

That’s one former teammate giving him grief. There’s also at least one current teammate doing the same. Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders roasted his team after the loss. He also (jokingly???) offered to play quarterback to have “something fun to watch.”

I don’t even think Saunders means to take a shot at Carr there. He’s just cracking jokes to keep things a bit light. But, still, that’s an indictment on the quarterback. Carr isn’t getting the job done and his teammates seem pretty bothered by it.

Remember when the Saints were the best 2-0 team in NFL history? Sheesh, man. Wild times, right? Feels like so long ago.

Derek Carr was in the way-too-early MVP conversations. People were talking about how he’d finally cracked the code. He’d figured it out. He’d ascended into being the quarterback that he was always supposed to be. Or, at least, the one fans were sold on.

Now, here he is. Breaking loss records and getting roasted by his teammates, old and new. Tough times.

 Never miss a snap with 4th & Monday

What’s the sneaky-good NFL game of the week? Looking to dominate your fantasy league or survivor pool? Get pigskin prognostications, plus the top storylines each week with 4th & Monday, USA TODAY Sports’ expert guide to NFL action, game results and must-see moments.

Sign up here for our NFL newsletter and get that exclusive content delivered to your inbox each Friday and Monday during the season and every Monday in the offseason. 

MVP isn’t a QB award this year

Usually, MVP is an award that goes to the best quarterback in the league. But, with how things look today, Derrick Henry has to be considered the pretty clear frontrunner, Robert Zeglinski writes.

He’s on pace to become the first back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards twice in a career and is doing it despite defenses knowing he’s coming right at them.

“For all intents and purposes, Henry is having one of the greatest seasons by a running back in NFL history. In 2024. At the near-height of a passing renaissance driven by perhaps the highest floor of quarterback play ever across the league. The Ravens know how to get him downhill, and they know how to optimize him, even in a fashion the Tennessee Titans probably couldn’t fathom.

How do I know this?

The elite Broncos defense started selling out on Henry by putting all 11 defenders in the box, and he still gashed it time and time again. I’ve been watching NFL football for nearly 20 years. I don’t think I’ve seen a running back have his way with a top-of-the-line defense like that. It was jarring to see it happen live.”

That sounds like the MVP to me. In a quarterback-driven league, Henry has been the best player. He should be rewarded for that — especially if he makes history while doing it.

What’s up, WhatsApp!!!

Hey, gang! We’ve got a WhatsApp channel! No, we’re not going on an international vacation. This is a channel for you to keep up with everything we’re doing at For The Win. 

We’ll be posting the latest articles and videos from the site into the channel directly to you, our favorite Winners. 

Sign up for the channel here! We look forward to seeing you on WhatsApp. 

Joel Embiid’s dust-up isn’t OK, but it’s understandable

Violence is never a good thing. There should always be room for civil discourse in tense situations. Once things escalate, you never know where they can go. It’s unpredictable.

That’s why when Joel Embiid reportedly shoved a reporter in the 76ers locker room over the weekend, it was incredibly worrisome.

The altercation was with a columnist who brought up Embiid’s brother who died in a car accident in his latest work. The 76ers star was understandably upset by that. He reportedly confronted the columnist in the locker room, and words eventually escalated to a shove.

While it certainly isn’t good that things went this far, our Prince Grimes writes this was simply the columnist’s words coming home to roost.

“Using Embiid’s family the way Hayes did was disgusting and completely unnecessary for a critique about how much Embiid plays. I firmly believe in keeping your hands to yourself, but Embiid’s reaction is not hard to understand. If anything, it should be a lesson learned for the entire sports media industry that some things are off limits.

Hayes seemed to understand as much, apologizing on X for the Oct. 23 column just a few hours after it published and removing any mention of Embiid’s family. That it was possible to edit without changing the column proves how unnecessary that part was to begin with.”

Anytime you’re publishing something about someone else for all to see — whether it’s a column or a blog post or a simple tweet! — make sure that it’s something you’d be willing to say to that person’s face.

Otherwise, it probably shouldn’t see the light of day.

Quick hits: Jordan Love can’t be trusted … Matt Eberflus is on the hot seat … and more

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with everything we learned from Week 9, including why we shouldn’t trust Jordan Love for now.

— The Bears looked broken against the Cardinals and Matt Eberflus’ job is likely at risk because of it, Robert Zeglinski writes.

— Prince Grimes’ “Capture the Flagg” column is brilliant. Everyone is tanking for Cooper Flagg.

—Here’s Christian again with the grossest QB performances of Week 9

— Here’s Andrew Joseph on the wacky TD celebration that took over football this weekend.

— Like Gene Steratore, I am also confused about this Saquon Barkley fumble. Mary Clarke has more.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Happy Monday! Let’s do this again tomorrow. Peace.

-Sykes