Raiders look to right the ship in showdown with 1st-place Chiefs
Elliott returns to Cowboys practice
OAKLAND, Calif. — When Derek Carr arrived at Oakland training camp, he quickly tried to dampen the high expectations around the team by pointing out that the Raiders shouldn’t be considered the AFC West favorites. They hadn’t even beaten Kansas City the past two years.
Heading into the first meeting of the year with the Chiefs (5-1) at home tonight (6:25 p.m., CBS, NFL Network), Carr and the Raiders (2-4) are searching for a win of any kind after losing four straight games for the first time in three years.
“You want to go out there and beat one of the best teams in football,” Carr said. “We have them coming to our place on a short week. So all the challenges are there. Everything is pushing our back against the wall, but one thing I know we’re going to do is we’re going to come out (tonight) and fight.”
Little has gone right the past month for the Raiders, who have failed to score more than 17 points or gain more than 300 yards in any game during their skid. That has turned a team expected to be a Super Bowl contender into a last-place squad.
No one played better than the Chiefs the first five games as quarterback Alex Smith led a dynamic offense that got a big boost from game-breaking rookie running back Kareem Hunt .
That ended last week when Kansas City was held to 6 yards on 16 plays in the first half and lost to Pittsburgh 19-13. But with a short week and a long trip , the Chiefs had little time to dwell on that loss.
“You don’t even have time to let it marinate or sink in, to be honest,” Smith said. “You just have to let it go.”
The Raiders made a key addition at linebacker this week when they signed four-time AllPro NaVorro Bowman after he was released by San Francisco. Bowman may have lost a step at age 29 after a series of injuries, but he still is an upgrade at inside linebacker.
COWBOYS: Ezekiel Elliott was back with the team Wednesday, his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations on hold again after the star running back served a day of it waiting for another reprieve that eventually came.
Last year’s NFL rushing leader left no doubt that he will keep fighting a legal battle that has lasted six weeks with hearings in three courts in three states. A fourth hearing — and the second in a New York court — should happen before the end of the month.
“It’s fighting for your name, that’s what it is,” Elliott said.
Elliott was granted his second temporary restraining order, this one from a New York judge, Tuesday night, clearing him to play Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers.
He likely will be eligible the following week at Washington based on the court’s time line for another hearing.
BRONCOS: Amid all the hand-wringing over their meltdown against the New York Giants, Denver got a booster shot Wednesday when outside linebacker Shane Ray and rookie tight end Jake Butt participated in practice.
It was Ray’s first practice since he broke his left wrist in late July, and Butt’s first chance to take snaps with the starters since being drafted in April while recovering from knee surgery.
The appearances by Ray and Butt mitigated the absences of about a dozen players from practice including injured receivers Emmanuel Sanders (ankle), Demaryius Thomas (calf), Cody Latimer (knee) and Isaiah McKenzie (ankle), right tackle Menelik Watson (calf) and inside linebacker Brandon Marshall (shoulder).
BUCS: As expected, thirdyear pro Jameis Winston did not throw in practice Wednesday because of a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.
Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick worked with the first-team offense in preparation for the Bills (3-2), who have the NFL’s stingiest scoring defense.