Jon Gruden’s return to the Oakland Raiders‘ sideline couldn’t have gotten off to a better start https://www.raiderslockerroom.com/authentic-antonio-brown-jersey , with Marshawn Lynch powering his way into the end zone for a touchdown.The rest of the night turned out to be rather forgettable for the Raiders and showed that Oakland has a long way to go to get back to the level Gruden had the team playing at when his first stint as coach ended more than 16 years ago.All that positive energy generated when Gruden was hired back in January turned to a chorus of boos by the end of a 33-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.“It was great,” Gruden said of being back on the sideline at the Oakland Coliseum. “It’s not time for that anymore. It’s about getting this football team better. It wasn’t good enough tonight.”The Raiders (0-1) were good enough for one half as Derek Carr led the team to that opening-drive touchdown and two more field goals that gave Oakland a 13-10 lead at halftime.But the Rams (1-0) then scored all 23 points in the second half, with Marcus Peters returning Carr’s third interception of the game 50 yards for a game-sealing touchdown that sent the fans who pined for Gruden’s return for years heading to the exits.“We are a better team than what was put out there on the field,” tight end Jared Cook said. “This one game does not define us.”The Raiders took the opening kick and drove 75 yards for a touchdown on a 10-yard run by Lynch. The Rams had Lynch stood up at the 3, but he powered his way into the end zone with help from a push by his offensive linemen.Oakland managed just six points the rest of the way against a defense fortified by the offseason additions of former All-Pros Peters, Aqib Talib and Ndamukong Suh.Carr threw an interception in the end zone to John Johnson in the second quarter, another in the fourth when he tried to pull back a pass at the last minute only to have the ball slip out and float right to linebacker Cory Littleton, and then the third on a miscommunication with Cook.“He did some good things tonight and obviously there are some critical errors he has to eliminate,” Gruden said. “He knows that. We all know that.”Here are some other takeaways from the game:FIND A RHYTHMThe Rams started slowly after resting their entire starting offense throughout the preseason, as well as several key defensive players. But things turned in the second half, starting with quarterback Jared Goff leading the team to a tying field goal on the opening drive. Then they took the lead for good on a 58-yard, four-play drive that featured two passes downfield to another offseason addition, Brandin Cooks, and an 8-yard TD to Cooper Kupp.“Any first game of the year, you’re dealing with some things,” Goff said. “You look at other teams around the league and it’s no different for us.”COOK’S NIGHTCook was one of the only Raiders to have a big night. He caught nine passes for 180 yards , breaking Todd Christensen’s franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end. Christensen had 173 vs. the Chargers on Nov. 20, 1986.OH, SNAPThe Raiders got thrown for a loop early when long snapper Andrew DePaola injured his knee on a punt in the first quarter and didn’t return. Tight end Lee Smith filled in and provided accurate snaps on two field goals. He had a high snap on a punt, but Johnny Townsend leaped and brought it down with no issues. It was a far cry from the 2012 season opener when Jon Condo got hurt for Oakland and Travis Goethel came in and botched three snaps in a loss to the Chargers.“It was stressful, I can’t even lie to you guys,” Smith said. “I’m just glad they all got back there.”FEED THE BEASTRams RB Todd Gurley had just five touches in the first half. He carried four times for 19 yards and took a short flip from Goff 19 yards for a score on his only reception. Gurley had 18 touches in the second half, carrying 16 times for 89 yards and catching two passes for 20 yards.“You just try to get in that rhythm, get the ball, get consecutive run plays in a row,” he said. “We were able to do that in the second half.” ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The defense can’t stop anybody, even a third-string, undrafted free agent quarterback making his NFL debut.The banged-up offensive line is providing no protection for Derek Carr Womens Derek Carr Jersey , leaving coach Jon Gruden so concerned about his quarterback’s health that he was unwilling to call any down-field passes.The rookie punter is in a major rut, unable to flip the field with his kicks.The problems for the Oakland Raiders right now run deep and they were all exposed in a 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that was the most lopsided of Gruden’s 12 years as an NFL head coach.The play that revealed the most issues might have been a 52-yard touchdown run by Raheem Mostert that made it 31-3 in the third quarter on Thursday night that featured several players appearing to play at less than top speed.“I didn’t have any problem at all with the effort,” Gruden said. “I think what I had a big problem with is we had two guys in the same gap and we got outflanked immediately and their back was faster than I think we anticipated. That was my big problem with the long run. Once again, defensively I think we gave up six plays for 240 yards. Six plays yielded 240 yards. That cannot happen and it continues to be a big part of our problem. We have to fix it.”Right now, the Raiders (1-7) haven’t been able to fix much of anything and are getting worse by the week. Oakland has lost four straight games, getting outscored by 85 points in the span.The defense is allowing 6.76 yards per play, the worst by any team through eight games since the 1970 merger. The Raiders have allowed the second-most points as a franchise through eight games (252), are tied for the second-fewest takeaways (6) and have the fewest sacks (7). Oakland has also allowed opponents to have a 113.9 passer rating, a mark that only one team has ever been worse than over a full season.Even Nick Mullens managed to pick apart the defense in his NFL debut, joining Hall of Famers Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly as the only quarterbacks to throw for at least 250 yards and three TDs with no interceptions in their first career game.Those struggles have led to some heated sideline conversations between Gruden and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, who still has the confidence of his head coach.“I’m sure emotions get caught on tape sometimes but, there’s not a better coach I know than Paul Guenther,” Gruden said. “There’s not a better friend that I have than Paul Guenther. We’re going to argue and jaw, probably tonight, deep into the night over a lot of things. I’ll see if we can video footage for you.”The offense is dealing with its own woes as rookie left tackle Kolton Miller has been in and out of the lineup with a knee injury, left guard Kelechi Osemele re-injured his knee Thursday after missing the previous three games, backup left guard Jon Feliciano is dealing with a rib injury and rookie right tackle Brandon Parker has struggled since taking over for the injured Donald Penn.The situation got so bad Thursday when Miller was forced to leave that Osemele had to move to left tackle after not practicing there all season.Osemele and Miller are being evaluated and could miss some time so the Raiders brought back former draft pick David Sharpe on Friday to take the place of tackle T.J. Clemmings, who is on injured reserve.Oakland allowed eight sacks against San Francisco and Gruden pulled Carr to protect his health.“Last night I was concerned,” he said. “Last night we didn’t just have a couple of injuries, we were decimated and had guys playing positions that they had never really practiced. That was uncommon for any game I’ve ever called and I’ve called a lot of games. I’ve broadcast some games and I haven’t seen that.”Even the rookie punter is struggling. Oakland used a fifth-round pick on Johnny Townsend, who has struggled all season. His 25-yard punt two weeks ago set up Indianapolis’ go-ahead score and he had a 23-yarder against San Francisco.Townsend is last in the NFL in gross punting average (41.9 yards) and has the second-lowest percentage of punts downed inside the 20 (18.8 percent).“I think he’s overthinking some things a little bit,” Gruden said. “Directional punting, putting the ball between the numbers to the side line to the right, to the left, getting it off quicker, whatever it may be. I make no excuses for Townsend, but I will say this, I have seen him bomb it. I have seen him be a difference maker and I am confident it’s in our near future.”