By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — The Raiders (0-1) home opener in head coach Jack Del Rio’s debut didn’t go so well after the 33-13 boat-race the Cincinnati Bengals put on the Silver & Black Sunday. Here are my three takeaways from the Raiders loss to the Bengals:

1. Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr left the game in the second quarter with a sore thumb. Carr completed seven passes for 61 yards before heading to the locker room. Backup quarterback Matt McGloin finished the Raiders’ final two drives of the half. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio confirmed to the media that X-Rays were negative.
2. Speaking of McGloin, McGloin finished the game in place of the injured Carr (who didn’t return to the game), completing 23-of-31 passes for 142 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception to avoid a shutout for Oakland. With only two quarterbacks in Carr and McGloin on the roster, should Oakland look into acquiring another signal-caller in case McGloin gets dinged up too? Perhaps, call Washington and see if former No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III is available and if he is, at what price? McGloin did say after the game that its a tough situation regarding Carr’s injury, but is “Ready to go if needed.”
3. Cincinnati saw nothing but green grass over the middle of the field today. Bengals offensive coordinator and former Raiders interim head coach Hue Jackson attacked the middle of the field as Oakland’s defense had no answer for Tyler Eifert. The third-year tight end out of Notre Dame  had a monster day, catching a career-tying two touchdowns against Oakland, to go along with a career-high nine catches for 104 receiving yards.

Who’s next: Baltimore Ravens (0-1) at O.co Coliseum, Sunday, 1:05 p.m. PT, CBS

Baltimore was dropped in Denver, 19-13, in a defensive battle with the Broncos. Leading 13-9 in the third quarter, Ravens starting quarterback Joe Flacco threw a crucial interception to Broncos starting cornerback Aqib Talib, who raced 51 yards for the go ahead touchdown. Flacco completed just 18-of-32 passes for 117 yards, and two interceptions.

But the bigger news from the game was that starting outside linebacker Terrell Suggs will be lost for the season after being carted off in the fourth quarter with a torn right Achilles. Suggs also tore his right Achilles during the offseason in 2012.

Losing a guy like Suggs, one of just six players with 100 sacks since 2003, is a devastating blow for Baltimore. Suggs and the Ravens’ defense seemed to be in regular season form by harassing Broncos starting quarterback Peyton Manning all day, sacking the future Hall of Famer four times while limiting Denver to 3.2 yards per play on offense.

“It’s hard to replace a guy like Terrell Suggs,” Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil told NFL Media’s James Palmer after the game Sunday. “He brings so much to our defense, so it’s a blow where we kind of have to rally as a team. Guys have to step up, myself included. It was one of the reasons I came here, so it’s huge. But we got guys here, we have depth and we got to rally behind each other. No one wants to feel sorry for us that’s for sure.”

Glued to the Tube Roundup: The Four Must See Games for Week 1 by #TheFootballJunkie

So, #TheFootballJunkie finished 2-2 this week (Cowboys and Packers held on with wins, Seahawks and Buccaneers delivered loses), but hey, it’s just the first week of the season so I will take a .500 record.

Green Bay trumps Bears 31-23 behind Aaron Rodgers and James Jones

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns, two of them to James Jones, as the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears, 31-23 Sunday at Soldier Field.

Rodgers completed 18-of-23 passes for 189 yards, helping Green Bay (1-0) win for the 11th time in 12 meetings against Chicago (0-1), including the postseason.

Jones, who spent seven years in Green Bay before signing with Oakland last season, finished the game with four catches for 51 yards, including a sick one-handed catch for a 13-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Jones also was in camp with the New York Giants before being released on the final roster cut.

Eddie Lacy ran for 85 yards on 19 carries, including a touchdown. Defensive end/linebacker Julius Peppers paced the Packers defense with 1.5 sacks.

Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler completed 18-of-36 passes for 225 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

Rams holds off Seahawks, 34-31 in OT

Trailing 31-24 with 53 seconds left in the game, St. Louis tied the game after Seahawks safety Dion Bailey stumbled, allowing Rams tight end Lance Kendricks to catch a 37-yard touchdown.

Rams (1-0) kicker Greg Zuerlein nailed the game-winning 37-yard field goal in overtime, after Seattle rallied off 18 points in the fourth quarter. Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was stopped on 4th-and-1 at the Rams 42 yard line to end the game. Lynch finished with 18 carries for 73 rushing yards.

The Rams punished Seahawks (0-1) starting quarterback Russell Wilson, sacking Wilson six times. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive end Robert Quinn each recorded two sacks.

With running backs, (rookie) Todd Gurley (knee) and (second-year) Tre Mason (hamstring), Benny Cunningham got the start in the backfield for St. Louis and played pretty well. Cunningham finished with 16 carries for 45 rushing yards, but was also vital in the passing game, hauling in four passes for 77 yards.

St. Louis starting quarterback Nick Foles finished 18-of-27 passing for 297 yards and a touchdown in his debut for the Rams.

Wide receiver Tavon Austin scored his fourth career rushing touchdown for St. Louis, a 16-yard scamper, in the second quarter.

Wilson threw for 251 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while completing 32-of-41 passes.

Rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett scored Seattle’s first touchdown of the game on a 57-yard punt return in the first quarter. It was Seattle’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2007, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Mariota’s four touchdown passes leads Titans past Winston, Bucs 42-14

Marcus Mariota joined Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton as the only rookies to throw four touchdowns in their debut, helping Tennessee dismantle Tampa Bay 42-14 at Raymond James Stadium.

Tarkenton did it for the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 17, 1961 against the Chicago Bears.

In the much-anticipated matchup between the top two quarterbacks taken in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota got the better of rookie counterpart Jameis Winston, completing 13-of-16 passes for 209 yards and no interceptions. Mariota had tons of protection and made the transition from college to the pros seem effortless with his command of the huddle and finding his receivers.

Mariota became the first rookie in NFL history to throw two touchdowns in the first quarter of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Wide receiver Kendall Wright led Tennessee in receiving, catching four passes for 101 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown pass from Mariota.

Winston didn’t have the best of games, completing 16-of-33 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Winston became the first rookie quarterback since Brett Favre in 1991 to throw a pick-six on his first pass of his career when Titans cornerback Coty Sensabaugh returned the football 26 yards for the score in the first quarter.

Second-year tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins finished with five catches, 110 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.

Cowboys defeat Giants, 27-26, lose Bryant for 4-6 weeks

Tony Romo recorded his 28th career game-winning drive, finding tight end Jason Witten for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Dallas a 27-26 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. Witten finished the game tied with running back Lance Dunbar (70 receiving yards) with eight catches for 60 receiving yards.

Dallas’ (1-0) fifth straight win over their NFC East foe was bittersweet, after finding out that star wide receiver Dez Bryant would need surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot and will be lost for 4-6 weeks. Bryant left the game in the second half after catching five passes for 48 receiving yards and didn’t return to action.

Romo drove the Cowboys 72 yards in just 1:27 after forcing the Giants to settle for a Josh Brown field goal to push New York’s lead to 26-20 on the Giants’ previous drive. Romo completed 36-of-45 passes for 358 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning completed 20-of-36 passes for 193 yards.

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie recovered a fumble by Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley and return it 57 yards for a New York touchdown in the second quarter. New York’s defense converted three Dallas turnovers into 17 points.

With the win, Dallas improves to 8-0 all time against the Giants (0-1) in openers.

Joe Hawkes-Beamon is a columnist for Sports Radio Service. Follow him on Twitter @JLHB510 and Facebook #TheFootballJunkie