Raiders Impress In Preseason Opener Against Rams
OAKLAND (AP) — Derek Carr might already have a new favorite receiver.
Carr completed three passes to Oakland Amari Cooper on an opening field-goal drive and the Raiders beat the St. Louis Rams 18-3 in their exhibition opener under new coach Jack Del Rio.
Carr kept looking for Cooper and threw an interception to Trumaine Johnson in the end zone on the second drive before turning the game over to the backups. Cooper, the fourth pick in the draft, finished with three catches for 22 yards and added a 3-yard run on an end-around as he tries to become the game-breaking receiver lacking in Oakland the past decade.
The Raiders have not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Randy Moss in 2005. They added Cooper and Michael Crabtree this offseason in hopes of changing that. Crabtree caught two passes for 15 yards.
Nick Foles drove the Rams to a field goal on his first drive with the team, but left after the second drive. Foles completed his first two passes to Lance Kendricks and Tavon Austin for 61 yards before the offense stalled.
St. Louis was also hurt by committing 10 penalties for 75 yards in a sloppy opener. The highlights for the Rams were interceptions by Johnson and rookie Imoan Claiborne.
Christian Ponder threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Andre Holmes in the second quarter, and third-stringer Matt McGloin connected on a 16-yard TD to Brice Butler in the fourth as Del Rio became the first Raiders coach to win his exhibition debut since Lane Kiffin in 2007.
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