Nathan Peterman on Saturday ran farther on one play in his first pre-season game with the Oakland Raiders than he ever did with the Buffalo Bills.
If it helps Peterman gain an edge in the battle to be Derek Carr’s backup, he is more than happy to keep doing it.
Peterman scrambled 50 yards to set up his only touchdown throw and the Raiders beat the Los Angeles Rams 14-3 in the pre-season opener for both teams.
“He can run,” Oakland coach Jon Gruden said. “As he continues to gain command of the offense, he’s going to be an interesting guy to watch.”
Peterman entered in the third quarter and completed nine of 12 passes for 66 yards. He led both teams with 56 yards rushing.
A starter for Buffalo in Week 1 a year ago, Peterman is competing with Mike Glennon for the backup job behind Carr.
Glennon, attempting to latch on with his fourth team in four years, started and went 17 of 25 for 200 yards, but threw two interceptions.
Peterman’s 3 yard touchdown pass to Keelan Doss on an inside slant came two plays after Peterman was forced out of the pocket on a third-and-4 play from the Oakland 42 yard line and weaved his way through the defense to the 8 yard line. The throw to Doss was confirmed after a review.
“It was a super clean pocket and I was able to get out to my left.” Peterman said. “I took off and I was about to slide then noticed that there was nobody else there. I think it was because of guys blocking downfield, guys making big plays for me. Tried to get in there, didn’t quite make it.”
Both teams held out of a majority of their starters after holding two joint practices at the Raiders’ training camp facilities in Napa, California.
Blake Bortles started for the Rams and played one series in place of Jared Goff. Bortles completed three of eight throws for 50 yards and had a 59.4 rating.
“He’s shown that he can be a big-time quarterback and he’s really picked up things nicely,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “He is really unfazed by anything that doesn’t go our way. It’s very similar to what we love about Jared. Blake has been a great addition for us.”
Glennon looked good early and threw three straight completions that gained 56 yards on Oakland’s opening drive.
DeAndre Washington scored on a 7 yard run.
The Raiders were in the red zone in the second quarter when Glennon threw an interception near the goal line.
“I was thinking about calling timeout beforehand and I should have done that,” Glennon said. “It was a bad throw.”
Greg Zuerlein made a 36 yard field goal in the first half for the Rams.
Also on Saturday, it was:
‧ Steelers 30, Buccaneers 28
‧ Saints 25, Vikings 34
‧ Chiefs 38, Bengals 17
‧ 49ers 17, Cowboys 9
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