Life went on for the Oakland Raiders without Antonio Brown on Monday night, as they defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 24-16 in their season opener.
Whether or not it's a sign of things to come remains to be seen, as the Broncos aren't exactly a stellar opponent, but, at the very least, the Raiders got their season off to a good start for a change.
Here are the three biggest performances from Oakland's Week 1 victory.
3. Josh Jacobs
Throughout the offseason, Jon Gruden remained coy on who his No. 1 running back would be this year, but in the Raiders' first game, it became blatantly obvious.
Rookie Josh Jacobs carried the ball 23 times for 85 yards and a couple of touchdowns in an impressive regular-season debut, and in the process, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington combined for three carries.
It wasn't a very efficient performance for Jacobs, who averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, but the fact that he was able to handle such a heavy workload in his first meaningful game while also punching in a couple of scores is a great sign.
The Raiders drafted Jacobs in the first round for a reason. Many scratched their heads at the pick, but clearly, Oakland saw something in the kid, and it began to manifest itself on Monday evening.
2. Tyrell Williams
Tyrell Williams was initially expected to be the Raiders' No. 2 wide receiver, but with Brown gone, Williams now takes center stage as the No. 1 guy, and he filled that role very well in Week 1, hauling in six receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Williams spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Chargers and was a very solid wide out in San Diego/Los Angeles, with his best season coming in 2016 when he caught 69 passes for 1,059 yards and seven scores.
He hasn't come close to that type of production since, but he has still been effective, and now that he is definitely the top option in Oakland's passing game, it's entirely possible that he approaches those 2016 numbers this year.
Williams is just 27 years old, so he may very well have a bright future ahead of him with the Raiders franchise.
1. Derek Carr
That had to feel good.
After a 2018 campaign in which Derek Carr faced heavy criticism all year long, the quarterback responded by completing 22 of his 26 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown in his first game of 2019.
Carr's Monday night outing easily would have been one of his best performances last season, and it came without Brown, who was expected to be Carr's go-to target.
I have said all along that Carr got a bit of a bad rap last year, as he was sacked 51 times behind a horrific offensive line and had very limited weapons to throw to, especially after the Raiders traded Amari Cooper midseason.
Carr is still a bit short on weapons this season, but with Oakland having a bit more talent overall even without Brown, look for the signal-caller to have a nice bounce-back year.
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