Martin Rogers

USA TODAY Sports

MEXICO CITY – Derek Carr’s teammate Khalil Mack has no doubt.

“MVP,” Mack said as the Oakland Raiders prepared to leave Mexico. “That dude? MVP.”

The defensive end was serious enough about his quarterback’s credentials as one of the front-runners in the race to be named the NFL’s top player this season that he repeated it three times: on the field at Azteca Stadium, in a postgame news conference and again in the Raiders locker room.

“When you look at the level of performance, when you look at the clutch throws, the things he does to help us win, he is (right up) there,” Mack added.

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It is a theme that is growing as quickly as the Raiders’ reputation. Monday night’s 27-20 triumph south of the border took the Raiders to 8-2 and kept them in top spot in the AFC West with four straight victories.

Carr has thrown 20 touchdowns on the season against four interceptions, and ranks sixth in passing yards with 2,800. He also has eight fourth-quarter comebacks since the start of the 2015 campaign, more than anyone except the Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford. On the back of his poised efforts, the Raiders are revitalized.

Yet try as you might, you can’t get Carr going on the MVP talk. Since it first was tentatively raised a few weeks ago, the 25-year-old has become a master at deflecting attention away from the topic.

The best way to get him going is to switch tack, and talk about potential, for that is something he believes the Raiders have in spades. To him 8-2 is no aberration or fluke, but a precursor of even better things to come.

“This all started way back long ago, rookie year (2014),” Carr said. “Some people think that is crazy to say. But we have built toughness and resiliency. It doesn’t matter the situation, we know what we are capable of doing. We have built and grown.

“But we are not even close to where we want to be, and where we are going to be.”

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Monday’s game was prime evidence that Carr’s sparkle is backed up by some serious steel. A scrappy affair turned in the fourth quarter when he masterminded two touchdowns that gave the Raiders a lead they would not relinquish.

“We got punched in the mouth (by Houston),” Carr added. “We were not executing but there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that we were going to come back and win the football game.”

Carr was in third place in USA TODAY Sports’ most recent MVP tracker, sitting behind Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Tom Brady is also a leading contender, having put up exceptional numbers since returning from his Deflategate suspension.

Carr, however, is in the mix as much as anyone.

As the Raiders have grown into a team now seen as capable of doing some damage in the playoffs, head coach Jack Del Rio has had a front row seat to watch Carr’s growth.

“He does a great job staying poised,” Del Rio said. “He is unflappable. He keeps making good decisions.”

If he keeps making them, with home games against the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills up next, the MVP chatter will only get louder.

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