OAKLAND -- It wasn’t that E.J. Manuel was terrible -- he wasn’t in replacing the injured Derek Carr, who has a transverse process fracture -- but he was put in a terrible spot in the Oakland Raiders’ 30-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders wanted Manuel to ease into his first start for them, but before he took his third snap, he already was trailing, 14-0. (Baltimore went 75 yards in five plays to open the game and Jimmy Smith returned a Jared Cook fumble 47 yards for a TD.) Manuel finished 13-of-25 for 159 yards with a 41-yard TD pass to Michael Crabtree and was sacked three times.