I don't know if we need to be that meta or cynical about his decision to draw here. He's also just much better than Caruana at rapid and blitz (Elo rating of 28

I don't know if we need to be that meta or cynical about his decision to draw here. He's also just much better than Caruana at rapid and blitz (Elo rating of 2880 and 2939 respectively) while Caruana gets noticeably worse (2789 and 2767 respectively) as the time pressure increases. Ending the game early to avoid surprises and moving to a type of game where you've got a significant advantage over your opponent makes a lot of sense.