Oakland Raiders NFL Nation reporter Bill Williamson gives quarterback Derek Carr his game ball for his role in the Raiders' 34-20 win over the Jets on Sunday. Jets NFL Nation reporter Rich Cimini gives his game ball to New York receiver Brandon Marshall. (1:11)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Derek Carr quietly put on his street clothes late Sunday afternoon, then ran into fellow Oakland Raiders 2014 draft classmates Khalil Mack and Justin Ellis.

Carr stepped back and did a quick, compact shimmy, showing off his fashion sense to his teammates. They broke into laughter and walked on by.

Life is good for the Oakland Raiders these days.

Carr is a big reason for the long-suffering Raiders’ turnaround. On the strength of Carr’s leadership, the Raiders turned in a dominant 34-20 win over the New York Jets. Oakland -- 4-3 for the first time since 2011 -- is on pace to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

Derek Carr celebrates after one of his four touchdown passes against the Jets. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders finally have a quarterback. Over the first seven games of his second NFL season, Carr has shown the potential he exhibited as a rookie -- the No. 36 overall draft pick was the only rookie to start all 16 games last season -- was not a fluke.

In fact, potential may no longer be a fair operating description. The guy is delivering. Now. He is an NFL difference-maker.

After a short run of average play, Carr has been electrifying in the past two games. He has thrown seven touchdowns and led Oakland to 71 points combined against the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets.

New York has a top-flight secondary, but it didn’t look like it Sunday. Carr threw four touchdown passes and finished 23-of-36 for 333 yards and no interceptions. The last Oakland quarterback to throw for four touchdowns, 300 yards and no interceptions was Rich Gannon in 2002. Carr, 24 years and 218 days old, is the youngest Raiders quarterback to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns in a game.

“Derek played very, very well,” Oakland coach Jack Del Rio said. “He made great decisions all game.”

Carr’s growth was evident against the Jets, who entered the game blitzing at the highest rate in the NFL at 47 percent of all opponents’ dropbacks. On Sunday, they blitzed Carr on 61 percent of his dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. However, Carr made them pay. Three of Carr’s touchdowns passes came when New York blitzed him. He had three touchdown passes against the blitz in the first six games of the season.

Carr struggled against the blitz as a rookie. But he’s not a rookie anymore. He is better in all facets of the game. It was on display Sunday. Carr went after future Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis on the first play of the game. It was an overthrow, but it set the tone for the Raiders.

Carr was letting the Jets know he wasn’t afraid and would be the one setting the game's pace.

“He’s always so calm, he’s our leader,” Oakland left tackle Donald Penn said. “He’s a tremendous leader. He’s making us all look good.”

Penn, of course, was being humble, like his young quarterback. The truth is, the Raiders have a lot of weapons and it is helping Carr get better. His four touchdowns passes were dispersed to three players, none of them went to standout rookie Amari Cooper.

The Raiders are onto something offensively, and it all centers around their up-and-coming star quarterback.