Derek Carr hurt as Raiders fall to Bengals, 33-13

OAKLAND, Calif. That optimism the Raiders brought into coach Jack Del Rio’s debut flamed out quickly.

Oakland lost quarterback Derek Carr to a second-quarter hand injury and was throttled by the Cincinnati Bengals 33-13 in a deflating opener to the 2015 season.

Carr exited after trying to stiff arm Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, was eventually ruled questionable to return, but never made it back to the sidelines.

That was just the injury that added to the insult of an awful display of football that ranks up there with any of the worst starts the Raiders could’ve imagined.

The offense wasn’t moving the ball before Carr left and the defense was repeatedly carved up by a Bengals squad that has made the playoffs four straight years.

Aldon Smith was active and made his Raiders debut, but he was no help for a defense that couldn’t generate any sort of a pass rush.

Linebacker play was sketchy and couldn’t match up at all with Cincinnati tight end Tyler Eifert, who caught nine passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

The Raiders avoided the shutout when Matt McGloin threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Reece with 7:55 remaining. He also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter.

Del Rio had been in danger of becoming the first Raiders coach since Art Shell’s second tenure in 2006 to be shut out in his debut. But even with the late points, this game was a depressing one for the fans that rained boos several times and was well cleared out midway through the fourth quarter.

The team is in even more trouble if Carr is seriously injured. He winced in pain trying to attempt a warm up pass shortly after the injury to his throwing hand.

Carr, who had a finger injury on his right hand in the offseason, had seemed a bit off with his touch throughout the preseason and early in this game. Another injury on the hand could be troublesome.

McGloin, the only other quarterback on the active roster, didn’t inspire confidence with his relief performance. The Raiders didn’t cross midfield until the final play of the third quarter and they trailed 33-0 at that point.

The Raiders also lost safety Nate Allen early in the game with a knee injury and Charles Woodson left the game in the final minutes with a trainer holding his right hand and arm.

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