Raiders open with win: The Las Vegas Raiders got a 34-30 season-opening road win in Carolina.
Jacobs sets franchise record with three touchdowns in opener
The Raiders validated the notion they could re-emerge as one of the best offensive teams in the NFL while at the same time putting forth a defense that could make things exciting on a weekly basis Sunday in a 34-30 season-opening road win against the Carolina Panthers.
Josh Jacobs scored touchdowns on runs of 1, 7 and 6 yards, becoming the first player in franchise history to score three times in an opening game. He had 25 carries for 93 yards and caught four passes for 46 more — outperforming Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey.
Derek Carr turned in a measured, error-free performance, hitting 22 of 30 passes for 239 yards and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor as the Raiders put their long-standing red zone and goal-to-go woes behind them with four touchdowns and a pair of field goals.
Defensively, there was a lot of Johanthan Abram flying around in the secondary and a huge fourth-quarter stop on fourth-and-1 that essentially put the game on ice after the Raiders had blown a 27-15 third-quarter lead.
“Derek Carr was great today. It’s what we asked of him,” coach Jon Gruden said. “We didn’t know much about our opponent. He made a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage and in the pocket and really had a gutcheck drive in the fourth quarter. We can say whatever we want about the
defense. They got the stop when we needed it.”
Daniel Carlson accounted for the rest of the scoring with field goals of 20 and 54 yards.
For Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater (22 of 34 for 270 yards) threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson, McCaffrey scored on a 6-yard run and Joey Slye had field goals of 47, 46 and 31 yards.
McCaffrey rushed 23 times for 96 yards and caught three passes for 38 more, but the Panthers did not go to him on the fourthand-1 play that decided the game.
Highs, lows and all you need to know from the Raiders’ opener: STUFFED PANTHER, YUM >> It was Alex Armah, a 256-pound fullback, that the Panthers turned to on fourth-and-1 with 1:11 to play at the 46-yard line. Clelin Ferrell and Raekwon McMillan made the stop.
“They were kind of quick counting us all game, I guess they were trying to surprise us with it,” Ferrell said. “We made the play.”
Said Carolina rookie coach Matt Rhule: “The only person you can blame is the head coach.”
TAHIR WHITEHEAD’S BIG FAVOR >> The drive that led to the winning touchdown was kept alive by Tahir Whitehead, the Carolina linebacker who played for the Raiders in 2018-19. On a third-and-eight situation, Whitehead took an 18-yard face-guarding penalty; he failed to turn around on a pass from Carr to Hunter Renfrow. The drive -- nine plays, 75 yards -- took 4:21 off the clock and ended with Jacobs’ third touchdown, a 6-yard run.
During the drive, Carr had completions of 18 yards to Jacobs and of 6 and 14 yards to Devontae Booker.
“My mindset isn’t about the third tackle,” Carr said, referring to the early departures of tackles Trent Brown and Sam Young. “My mindset isn’t about rookie receivers. My mindset is we’re equipped to accomplish what we needed to accomplish. I’m proud of our guys that we did it.”
THE BIG PLAY, WRONG WAY >> With the Raiders leading 27-22 -- they had been up 2715 -- a blown coverage enabled Robby Anderson to get loose for a 75-yard scoring play from Bridgewater, marking the sixth lead change of the game.
Anderson got past rookie Damon Arnette and then Erik Harris missed a tackle attempt with 8:29 to play.
“You’ve got a 12-point lead and you have your guts taken out, a blown coverage, and they take the lead out of you,” Gruden said. “You’re backed up, there’s nobody here. All you can hear is the coaches screaming on the sidelines.”
DENZELLE DELIVERS >>
Brown departed after three snaps with a calf injury. His backup, Young, didn’t make it much longer.
So Denzelle Good, a guard by trade, stepped in at right tackle and the Raiders didn’t miss a beat.
“He deserves a lot of credit, going in there without any work at right tackle and playing the whole game,” Gruden said.
ABRAM LAYS THE WOOD >>
Abram, injured in Week 1 a year ago, was active in the secondary and unloaded on McCaffrey after a threeyard run in the third quarter. He had a team-leading 13 tackles, including nine solo stops.
KWIATKOSKI OUT >> Middle linea backer Nick Kwiatkoski, signed to be the Raiders defensive signal caller, was ruled out after a pectoral injury in the third quarter.
The Raiders also went a long stretch without rookie Arnette, with second-year corner Isiah Johnson taking over. Arnette did return, however.
LONG DISTANCE CARLSON >> Carlson’s 54-yard field goal came after a season in which he went 0-for-20 from 50-plus. He was 6-for12 from 40-plus.
SERVING NOTICE >> The Raiders went deep on the first series to Henry Ruggs III, and Carr overthrew him. On the second series, Carr hit a wide-open Ruggs for a 45-yard gain to set up the first touchdown of the season. Ruggs sustained a knee injury and although he played in the second half, he wasn’t targeted. Fellow rookie receiver Bryan Edwards had one catch for nine yards.
MORROW VS. MCCAFFREY? >> One ill-advised scheme had Nicholas Morrow attempting to cover McCaffrey downfield. Morrow stayed closer than you’d expect, but didn’t turn around in time and drew 25-yard penalty for pass interference to help set up a Panthers field goal.
On the plus side, McCaffrey had only one first-half catch for 11 yards and nine rushes for 33 yards.
The Raiders had only three penalties for 40 yards, their fewest in a game since 2016.
SOCIAL INJUSTICE RECOGNITION >> Bridgewater was one of several Carolina players who took a knee during the national anthem. The Raiders stood arm in arm, with Gruden in center flanked by Arnette and Waller. Brown stood behind the line of Raiders standing at attention.