Raiders’ rookies Carr, Mack fulfill promise

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DENVER — Does a team deserve credit for winning three of its past five games after losing its first 10? That’s open to debate.

Should the Raiders retain general manager Reggie McKenzie after three seasons and 11 wins? Or interim coach Tony Sparano, who might have a slam-dunk case if not for two blowout losses in the aforementioned five-week span? Fans have differing opinions on those topics as well.

But one area where there can be no debate heading into Sunday’s season finale is that quarterback Derek Carr and outside linebacker Khalil Mack have given the long-struggling franchise reason for optimism. Neither has missed a start all season and both are legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates.

“Carr is a natural leader and winner — maybe not this year as far as the win-loss record, but soon,” offensive tackle Donald Penn said. “He has a lot of inner strength and poise and a big-time arm. He’s a natural.

“Mack is just a beast. And you could see that from Day 1.”

Derek Carr has started every game and has made few mistakes as a rookie quarterback. Derek Carr has started every game and has made few mistakes as a rookie quarterback. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Raiders’ rookies Carr, Mack fulfill promise 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

When he runs onto the field Sunday, Carr will become the first Raiders quarterback to start all 16 games since Rich Gannon in 2002. He will become the sixth QB to start all 16 games in franchise history: Gannon did it four times, Ken Stabler twice, and Jeff George, Jeff Hostetler and Jay Schroeder all did it one season.

Carr leads all rookies in completions (330), passing yards (3,112) and touchdowns (20), and his 11 interceptions are the fewest for any rookie quarterback with at least 500 attempts in NFL history.

He’s the seventh quarterback with 3,000-plus yards and 20-plus touchdowns in his rookie season. Four of the previous six (Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson and Andy Dalton) made the playoffs in year two.

Quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo can see Carr’s growth from day one in knowing what it takes to play at the NFL level.

He credits Carr with “knowing the speed of this level and how fast you have to think at the line of scrimmage and how fast you have to react. When you put on the film, even now, from the beginning of the season, he’s so much more fluid moving in the pocket, and he sees things a lot better.”

The 23-year-old improved his footwork during training camp. He has had to adjust in the short-passing game because he no longer has receivers who can consistently make defenders miss tackles like he did at Fresno State. Also, Carr is focused on not making costly mistakes and has thrown a lot of balls away rather than take a sack or take a chance downfield.

Offensive coordinator Greg “Olson and Coach Flip work so hard at teaching me the situation in games, teaching me when to take a sack and when not to,” Carr said. “When a play’s not there, eliminating the hits that I take. That’s something that has been number one since I got here. So, doing that, we have to throw a lot of balls away,” as he did Sunday against Buffalo.

As for Mack, he hopes a hamstring injury won’t hamper him from finishing the season strongly. Besides the three straight home wins, Mack has four sacks in the past six games after only coming frustratingly close in the first nine games.

“It is what it is at this point, but we’re just out there just fighting for each other and this team and this organization,” he said. “It speaks to the veteran leaders in this locker room, as well as the young guys.”

While Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who has had an incredible second half of the season, will likely beat out Carr for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Mack has a very good shot at defensive honors. He is second in the NFL to Houston’s J.J. Watt with 11½ tackles at or behind the line against the run, according to Stats LLC, and has gotten more national acclaim than St. Louis’ Aaron Donald and Baltimore’s C.J. Mosley.

No Raiders player has won a major postseason award since Gannon was MVP in 2002.

“The grind is all I’m focusing on — going out and getting better every week,” Mack said.

In addition to Mack frequently getting double-teamed, Sparano said, the linebacker has opponents guessing where he is going to line up or which path he will take to the quarterback or running back.

“That’s what you want,” Mack said. “You want them to play off of you and you want to play off of them. You want to attack, attack, attack as much as you can.”

With Carr’s and Mack’s help, the 3-12 Raiders hope to be the hunters and not the hunted next season.

Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vtafur@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VicTafur

Raiders (3-12) at Broncos (11-4)

When: 1:25 p.m.

Where: Denver

TV/Radio: Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46/95.7

Spotlight on: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong — He has filled in well for injured Sio Moore and is used in third-down pass coverage. This week he faces Denver’s Julius Thomas, the first tight end in NFL history with at least 12 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.

Injury report: Raiders — WR Vincent Brown (groin), CB Chimdi Chekwa (hamstring), WR Denarius Moore (foot/ankle), CB TJ Carrie (ankle) are out; RT Menelik Watson (foot/ankle) and LB Khalil Mack (hamstring) are questionable. Broncos — LB Brandon Marshall (foot) is out; WR Emmanuel Sanders (hip) and S T.J. Ward (neck) are questionable.

THE BIG 3

Denver bypasses the wild-card round if it defeats Oakland.

WR Demaryius Thomas has 1,363 yards receiving and 10 TDs in the past 12 games. Thomas (1,504) has joined Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice as the only NFL players to post at least 1,400 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in at least three consecutive seasons.

The Raiders have 64 three-and-outs this season. Only the Cardinals (65 in 2012) and 49ers (66 in 2007 and ’09) have had more since 2005.

—Vic Tafur