Cornerback Sean Smith understands his benching in New Orleans. He will start Sunday against Atlanta.

Sean Smith had no problem with man-to-man coverage Tuesday.

Two days after the Raiders’ cornerback was torched by New Orleans receivers and then benched, he took on reporters. The eighth-year veteran, signed to a four-year, $40 million deal, was asked if he was surprised head coach Jack Del Rio pulled him from the game.

“Not at all,” Smith said. “I was getting killed, I’m not going to lie to you. It was getting bad out there. I was costing our team points.

“Coach did what he had to do. Obviously, I would have loved to stay in and fight that thing out, but Coach made a decision on what’s best for the team, so I’m going to ride with it.”

Smith gave up three completions for 172 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown pass on which he let Brandin Cooks run by him without Smith making contact. Cooks caught Drew Brees’ pass over his shoulder and did not look back.

Smith didn’t get on the the field again, with a quarter and a half left.

“If you play long enough, you’re going to have days like that,” Smith said. “You just have to move on, have a short-term memory and be ready to roll. It’s over. It’s just like any other job. I had a bad day at work.”

Smith is back in the starting lineup for the home opener Sunday against the Falcons and receiver Julio Jones. The worst game of his career is in the rearview mirror.

“It’s one game,” Smith said. “It’s not going to define myself, my career, this season or anything like that. It’s a bad day, and I’m ready to roll for Week 2.”

At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Smith is one of the biggest corners in the NFL, and according to New Orleans receiver Willie Snead, he was too big.

“They weren’t faster than us, couldn’t really keep up,” Snead told reporters. “So we took advantage of how big they were, how slow they can be.” Smith said that wasn’t it. “If you watch film,” he said, “I definitely started off fast, but made some bad decisions, had some poor technique and cost our team.”

Del Rio said he has no doubt Smith will bounce back and play well.

“I have to make those kinds of calls, and guys have to trust my judgment,” Del Rio said. “I’m always going to do what’s best for the team . ... That’s all it is.”

The bottom line is the Raiders won 35-34.

“Thank God,” Smith said. “That would have been a rough plane ride home.” Briefly: There were no updates on injured offensive tackles Menelik Watson, Austin Howard and Matt McCants, but the team signed former Duke and Seattle practice-squad tackle Takoby Cofield to its practice squad. ... Receiver Amari Cooper had the locker room in a tizzy, as players walked in from practice and found Beats by Dre headphones in their lockers. Cooper, a spokesman for the product, gave the entire University of Alabama football team headphones this year.