Carr tonight

Derek Carr did something Monday night he didn’t do last season.

The Raiders were up 8 points on the Broncos and running the clock down and faced a third-and-8 with two minutes remaining.

So the quarterback went over to the sidelines and suggested a play to coach Jon Gruden.

“I went over,” Carr said, “and I said, ‘Hey, let me throw the screen. If it’s not there, I’ll call timeout and we’ll reassess.’ He said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”

Carr hit Tyrell Williams and left tackle Kolton Miller delivered the block that sprung the game-clinching 10-yard play. The Raiders held on to win the season opener, 24-16, in front of a delirious Oakland Coliseum crowd of 52,359.

There was so much media attention before the game about what Carr would do without departed receiver Antonio Brown that nobody asked what Carr would do in his second season in Gruden’s system.

“That’s a conversation that doesn’t happen last year. Last year, I would go over and ask him what he wants to do. ‘What’s the call?’ But we’re on the same page now. To his credit, he said, ‘Let’s end it.'”

Gruden later acknowledged that Carr asked to put the game in his hands, and he dug it.

“You listen to a good quarterback,” he said.

Carr almost got his second touchdown on the play, as Williams had a lot of daylight for a couple of seconds.

“That play could have almost been a home run,” Carr said. “That would have been hilarious.”

Carr was definitely not laughing before the game.

Two hours before kickoff, a scowling Carr strode out on to the field in his tank top to get some throws in. He didn’t have any smiles for anyone, nor engage in any small talk with any of the teammates, team officials, former players or family members scattered around on the sideline.

He grabbed a football, walked to the field and started firing.

“He looked pissed,” a teammate said.

If Carr was mad at Brown’s defection on Saturday, he didn’t say it after the game.

The fuel had already burned off, after a brilliant performance in which he was 22-of-26 for 259 yards and a touchdown. They were all darts and he made clutch throw after clutch throw.

“I was a man on a mission before the game,” Carr said. “And that had nothing to do with what went down this past week. That was pent-up from last season. I have been ready to go for a while and I know we have a really good team this year, and I couldn’t wait to get out there. So, not angry, just ready and really focused. I’m on a mission. The job is not done.”

Carr and Gruden definitely have a lot better tools than they did last year. Tackles Trent Brown and Kolton Miller held off elite pass rushers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, and Carr was untouched for the first time in recent memory. Williams looked like a No. 1 receiver and had six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown — with the crowd chanting “Fuck AB” to the No. 1 receiver who never played a game here — every time Williams caught a pass or the Raiders scored.

Rookie running back Josh Jacobs kept the defenses honest, mixing in impersonations of Marshawn Lynch and Marcus Allen. Jacobs had 85 yards and two touchdowns rushing and a 28-yard reception the sparked a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that put the Raiders up 21-6. He became the first running back to have 100 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns in his debut since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.

But the story was Carr. He wasn’t ready to talk about Brown on Saturday — after Brown had gone after general manager Mike Mayock on Wednesday, was sent home by the team Thursday, brought back on Friday and then granted his release on Saturday.

While some teammates and observers think Carr was mad about Brown’s erratic behavior, nonstop social media posts and yeah, even betrayal, Carr had long lost the pregame scowl by the time he took the podium for the postgame news conference.

“I love Antonio, he knows that,” Carr said. “He’s not here and I wish him the best. I hope he goes off and finds everything he wants. There’s no hurt feelings, there’s no anger in me. …

“We had a good football team even when (Brown) wasn’t there (for practice). We knew if we had him, my goodness, that could be crazy because he’s so good as a football player. But he’s not here.”

Carr didn’t need Brown on Monday night. The Raiders were 10-of-14 on third down.

“He played great tonight,” Gruden said. “He did a lot more for our team than complete a lot of passes. He made some great audibles and protected the ball … he was inspiring, leading the team on the sideline and I thought he was really good.”

Carr made a great throw on third-and-1 in the second quarter, when the Raiders brought in extra tackle Brandon Parker in their jumbo package and Carr threw it over the top to Williams for 43 yards. That set up Jacobs’ first touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

Was that pass to Williams a Carr audible?

“I think I’ll take credit for that,” Gruden said, smiling. “Derek was involved in a lot of things and most great quarterbacks are. He was on top of his game tonight.”