Derek Carr completed 22 of 26 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown to help the Oakland Raiders post a 24-16 season-opening victory over the visiting Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Rookie Josh Jacobs had 113 total yards (85 rushing, 28 receiving) and two touchdowns for Oakland (1-0). He became the first player to have 100-plus scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut since LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers in 2001.
The Raiders didn't appear to be affected by the Antonio Brown situation. Brown caused repeated distractions during training camp before being granted his request to be released on Saturday and subsequently signing with the New England Patriots.
Tyrell Williams caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, and Benson Mayowa had two sacks for the Raiders.
Brandon McManus kicked three field goals for the Broncos (0-1), who struggled in the franchise debuts of coach Vic Fangio and quarterback Joe Flacco. Von Miller and his mates didn't record any sacks.
Flacco finished 21 of 31 for 268 yards and a late touchdown. Courtland Sutton had seven receptions for 120 yards.
Jacobs' second touchdown, a 4-yard rush, capped a five-play, 60-yard drive and gave the Raiders a 21-6 lead with 11:52 remaining.
McManus booted a 39-yard field goal with 8:39 left to move Denver within 12, but Oakland's Dwayne Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to the Broncos 30-yard line. That set up Daniel Carlson's 29-yard field goal to push the Raiders' lead back to 15 with 4:38 left.
The Broncos responded quickly and traveled 75 yards on eight plays to find the end zone for the first time. Flacco connected with Emmanuel Sanders on a 1-yard scoring pass to cut the Raiders' lead to 24-16 with 2:15 remaining.
Denver never got the ball back as Carr completed a third-and-8 pass to Williams for 10 yards to seal it.
The Raiders held a 14-0 halftime lead due to scoring drives of 72 and 95 yards.
Oakland opened the contest with the 72-yard excursion that took 6:08. Carr produced 58 yards on 5-of-5 passing, hitting Williams for an 8-yard score for the early lead.
The Raiders found the end zone again in the second quarter, hogging the ball for 13 plays and 8:35. Jacobs completed the 95-yard drive by scoring on a 2-yard run.
Oakland outgained Denver 219-87 in the first half. Carr hit on 16 of 17 passes for 178 yards.
McManus kicked two 26-yard field goals in the third quarter to bring the Broncos within 14-6.
Oakland cornerback Gareon Conley was carted off the field on a stretcher due to a neck injury during the third quarter, but he will be OK, Raiders coach Jon Gruden said postgame.
--Field Level Media
Denver | Las Vegas | |
Royce Freeman | Player | Josh Jacobs |
10 | Attempts | 23 |
56 | Yards | 85 |
5.6 | Avg Yards | 3.7 |
0 | Touchdowns | 2 |
26 | Long | 13 |
Denver | Las Vegas | |
Courtland Sutton | Player | Tyrell Williams |
7 | Receptions | 6 |
120 | Yards | 105 |
17.1 | Avg Yards | 17.5 |
0 | Touchdowns | 1 |
30 | Long | 43 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Denver | 344 | 95 | 249 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Las Vegas | 357 | 98 | 259 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 1 |