The Oakland Raiders are a bad team and that's probably not going to change overnight. They're averaging the fewest rushing yards in the league, and are only six spots from the bottom when it comes to passing yards, according to ESPN.
The good news is it's hard to pin much of that frustrating ineffectiveness on rookie quarterback and hopeful franchise savior, Derek Carr. He's a young guy put in a tough spot asked to try and win games behind an offensive line that's as leaky as a bathroom sink.
"I've never been a part of something like this," Carr said, according to Jonathan Clegg of The Wall Street Journal, after his Raiders lost for the 10th straight time this season. "It's all new to me. It's new to a lot of people."
Potentially lucky for Carr, and fans of the Oakland Raiders, is the fact that there is another quarterback who started his career in a futile fashion eerily similar to his own, and who was able to eventually turn it around and become a Hall-of-Famer, and arguably one of the best to ever play the position - Troy Aikman.
Since 1970, there have been six NFL quarterbacks who started their career by losing 10 straight games - the only one to lose 11?
Aikman.
The former Cowboys quarterback lost all 11 of his starts as a rookie in 1989. It took until the first game of his second season for him to notch a win.
He would eventually, of course, go on to win three Super Bowls with Dallas, proving that a bad career start doesn't necessarily spell doom for future NFL prospects.
The task that's staring Carr and the rest of the Raiders organization in the face is a supremely tough one, and there's every chance that his career will end up more along the lines of Jack Trudeau or Brodie Croyle - a couple of the other quarterbacks on that list of six to start their careers with an 0-10 record - than Aikman or Warren Moon.
But Carr, despite the mounting losses, has continued to play well and display toughness. He's got 222 completions on 371 attempts, a completion percentage of 59.8, with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions on the season and a 76.8 rating, Pro-Football-Reference reported.
Most importantly, he's shown the ability to be a leader and keep the team fighting, despite the continually frustrating outcomes.
Carr, who has been dealing with a quad injury of late, and the Raiders take the field against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs tonight on Thursday night football in what could potentially be their 11th straight loss of the season.
If the outcome is as expected, all Carr and the Oakland faithful can do is try to take solace in the hope that his career path continues to mirror that of Aikman.
