Gruden’s return derailed by Rams; Darnold aces debut
Jon Gruden’s return to the Raiders’ sideline couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, with Marshawn Lynch powering his way into the end zone for a touchdown.
The rest of the night turned out to be rather forgettable for the Raiders and showed Oakland has a long way to go to get back to the level Gruden had the team playing at when his first stint as coach ended more than 16 years ago.
All that positive energy generated when Gruden was hired back in January turned to a chorus of boos by the end of a 33-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.
“It was great,” Gruden said of being back on the sideline at the Oakland Coliseum. “It’s not time for that anymore. It’s about getting this football team better. It wasn’t good enough tonight.”
The Raiders (0-1) were good enough for one half as Derek Carr led the team to that opening-drive touchdown and two more field goals that gave Oakland a 13-10 lead at halftime.
But the Rams (1-0) then scored all 23 points in the second half, with Marcus Peters returning Carr’s third interception of the game 50 yards for a game-sealing touchdown that sent the fans who pined for Gruden’s return heading to the exits.
Jets-Lions: Sam Darnold showed he could recover from a careless mistake — a promising trait for any rookie quarterback. What New York displayed on defense and special teams may have been even more encouraging for Darnold and his teammates.
Darnold threw an interception on the very first snap of his NFL career — and it was run back for a Detroit touchdown — but New York’s quar- terback shouldn’t sweat that too much after the Jets (1-0) stormed back and routed the Lions (0-1) 48-17. Darnold threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and the Jets also scored on defense and special teams.
The Jets intercepted Matthew Stafford four times in a dismal debut for new Lions coach Matt Patricia.
Panthers: Will be without three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen and second-team All-Pro right tackle Daryl Williams for the foreseeable future. The team announced Tuesday that Olsen re-fractured the same right foot that kept him out of nine games last season in Carolina’s 16-8 win over Dallas on Sunday. Olsen will not have surgery and will be reevaluated on a “monthly basis.” He’ll remain on the team’s roster in hopes he can return later in the season as he did a year ago.
Williams suffered an undisclosed knee injury and will need surgery.
Steelers: Will be a little short-handed as they prepare for their home opener against Kansas City. Quar- terback Ben Roethlisberger, cornerback Joe Haden and guard David DeCastro could all miss practice time after getting dinged up in a season-opening tie in Cleveland.
Roethlisberger is dealing with a right (throwing) elbow issue, Haden has a hamstring problem, and DeCastro frac- tured hand during the fourhour marathon in a monsoon. The injuries don’t appear to be serious, with Haden the most likely candidate to sit out if his hamstring doesn’t recover in time.
Falcons: Placed linebacker Deion Jones on injured reserve, taking a second 2017 Pro Bowler from the defense in less than a week. Jones needs surgery on the foot he injured in Thursday night’s 18-12 opening loss at Philadelphia.
Safety Keanu Neal suffered a torn ligament in his left knee in the game and will miss the remainder of the season. Jones must remain on IR for at least six weeks. He then would have two weeks to return to the roster.
Jaguars: Released defen- sive tackle Michael Bennett, clearing a roster spot for suspended defensive end Dante Fowler to rejoin the team.