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No Rodgers, no win

But Packers don’t need to worry in preseason loss at Oakland late Friday

Oakland Raiders running back Chris Warren III, center, is tackled by Green Bay Packers defensive end James Looney (99) and linebacker James Crawford (54) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By JOSH DUBOW

AP Pro Football Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Carr showed enough in one drive of what used to be the dress rehearsal game in the preseason for coach Jon Gruden to shut him down until Oakland’s season opener.

Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy didn’t need to see anything at all from Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers rested Rodgers and the rest of the offensive starters. They were held to two field goals and 228 yards of offense behind backups Brett Hundley and DeShone Kizer.

“We wanted to get some things done offensively. Didn’t accomplish that,” McCarthy said. “The obvious is the penalties kind of were the theme for the evening. It was a sloppy football game.”

Carr led a scoring drive on his only possession of a shorter-than-expected preseason appearance, and the Raiders beat the Green Bay Packers 13-6 on Friday night.

“‘I had seen enough,” Gruden said. “There was not much more to see. The battle for us is who’s behind Derek. … I was very pleased with Derek and how he started the game.”

Gruden had said earlier in the week that Carr and the offensive starters would likely play into the second quarter. But he pulled him after an opening drive that ended when Reggie Gilbert bull-rushed right tackle Donald Penn into Carr, leading to a sack and fumble that Carr recovered.

The Raiders won when Chris Warren III scored on a 1-yard run with 5:07 to play.

Carr went deep on the opening play, completing a 49-yard pass to Amari Cooper following a play-action fake. The Raiders moved to the 4 before the sack ended the drive and led to a field goal.

Raiders backup Connor Cook struggled, going 6 for 15 for 72 yards and throwing a pass that was intercepted by Green Bay rookie Jaire Alexander. Cook threw another interception that rookie Josh Jackson returned for a TD, but that got overturned by a defensive hold on the other side of the field.

Hundley wasn’t much better, going 8 for 14 for 78 yards and leading one field goal drive in the first half. Kizer was 11 for 23 for 120 yards and also led one field goal drive as the Raiders took advantage of Green Bay’s backup offensive line.

“They were getting around our edges a little bit,” Kizer said. “It required me to step up here and there. I was trying to avoid some sacks, trying to keep the ball in play and have some positive plays. That’s part of the game, being able to fight adversity.”

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