Rams Spoil Jon Gruden’s Coaching Return

by Matt George – Sports 1140 KHTK Reporter

The Raiders may be heading to Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop a roaring Raider Nation crowd from packing the Oakland Coliseum. Their presence was felt early, as the Silver and Black controlled the game for most of the first half, but a sloppy second half, riddled with Raider mistakes, cost them the game. The Los Angeles Rams spoiled a Jon Gruden homecoming with the 33-13 victory.

Oakland came out of the gate red-hot, driving down the field and punching the ball into the end zone off of the grit and determination of Marshawn Lynch. Lynch finished the game with 41 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Straight BEAST.

(Via @thecheckdown)
Follow along: https://t.co/Ysp0FSW7FI pic.twitter.com/ml54jHkIi9

— Raiders on NBCS (@NBCSRaiders) September 11, 2018

The Rams wasted little time coming right back with their own running back super weapon; Todd Gurley. The 2nd-year star finished with 147 total yards (108 rushing, 39 receiving).

https://twitter.com/fearthe_beard11/status/1039344963765460992

The Raiders were boosted by the outstanding play of tight end Jared Cook, who finished with 180 yards on 9 receptions, but his contributions weren’t enough. It was a tale of two very different halves for Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, who completed 20 of his 24 passes for 199 yards and an interception in the first two quarters. The final two were ugly to say the least; nine completions out of 16 attempts and two interceptions, including a pick-six.

Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff wasn’t great either, but did just enough to give his team the victory. 223 total passing yards and a pair of touchdowns for the 3rd-year pro. His clear advantage was the amount of time he had in the pocket. He was never pressured more than a couple times, and cashed in on the very apparent lack of Khalil Mack, who the Raiders traded to the Chicago Bears a week ago.

nickr83: Marcus Peters with the Pick-6 of Carr to seal the W for the #LARams!! #MNF #LAvsOAK ESPN Monday Night Football: Los Angeles Rams at Oakland Raiders https://t.co/ZrCy51pHA0 pic.twitter.com/v6uktWIoeR

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 11, 2018

Gruden and the Raiders offense promised more involvement from wide-receiver Amari Cooper, but failed to deliver. Cooper was targeted just three times and only managed one reception for nine yards. He did have a nice catch called back early due to one of Oakland’s 11 penalties, a majority of which were on the offense.

Hear what Gruden and Carr had to say following the loss:

🎥🔴 Live: Coach Gruden and Derek Carr address the media after Monday night's game. #RaiderNation https://t.co/j8CUvu6BqP

— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) September 11, 2018

The Raiders look to bounce back on Sunday in Denver against a Broncos team coming off a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

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