Raiders QB Derek Carr played well enough during extended action to stoke the flames about whether he or Matt Schaub is the better option to be the Raiders starting quarterback this season.

"He was better this game," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said of Carr, the team's second-round draft pick in May. "He made some improvement. ... Overall, he took a step forward."

Health-wise, Carr took a step backward when he suffered a concussion and a rib injury in the fourth quarter of his second NFL game. Lions defensive end Larry Webster landed on Carr with all his weight, and Carr pointed to his midsection when he picked himself up off the ground.

Allen said the concussion was the reason Carr got removed from the game. There was no immediate word on the severity of Carr's concussion or whether he broke any ribs.

Schaub was improved as well. His four drives yielded one touchdown. That came after a Lions penalty on a field-goal attempt kept alive a stalled drive. He looked sharp on his first drive, which ended when his pass into tight coverage got tipped into the air and intercepted. Carr completed 9 of 16 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. On the scoring drive, he completed all six of his passes for 76 yards. This still looks like it's Schaub's job at this point, though. Matt McGloin would step into the QB2 role if Carr misses significant time. Carr will have to pass concussion protocol but it looks like he avoided a serious rib injury according to updates.

Quarterback Matt Schaub’s first outing as a member of the Raiders wasn’t a particularly good one.

Schaub was 3-of-7 for 21 yards and couldn’t lead the Raiders to more than one first down in three series of work against the Vikings. Schaub wasn’t happy with how he played and coach Dennis Allen called the team’s effort disappointing, but it wasn’t disappointing enough for the Raiders to change up their plans for rookie Derek Carr. Allen said Sunday that Carr will not be playing with the first team.

“It’s not really part of the plan right now,” Allen said, via CSNBayArea.com. “We’ll evaluate everything as we move along, but the plan is to work Matt Schaub as the starting quarterback. I think he’s done a good job of doing that.”

Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore had three catches for 28 yards including two passes from Derek Carr that were thrown behind him.

Some consider Moore on the roster bubble after being listed third on the team's depth chart, but he stood out a bit Friday night which could help his chances.

After finishing fifth in receptions among all NFL rookie tight ends last season, the last thing on the mind of the Raiders' TE Mychal Rivera was to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

"I really looked in the mirror at myself," Rivera said Saturday after the Raiders completed a controlled scrimmage. "I knew I could do a lot better than I did last year, even though people were surprised at what I did. I have high expectations of myself."

In his second year out of Tennessee, Rivera has his sights on a won-loss record far better than 4-12, and significantly better statistics than 38 catches for 407 yards and four touchdowns.

One of the highlights Saturday was the sight of Rivera splitting a seam between veteran cornerbacks Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers and hauling in a pass inside the 5-yard line from second-string quarterback Derek Carr.

Rivera later caught a pass from Matt Schaub in the end zone.

Rivera is ranked just 35th on our list, we we think there are much better options in drafts, even in deeper leagues.

It’s worth mentioning the early returns have been positive on Raiders rookie second-round pick Derek Carr. He has tremendous arm strength, a quick release and good pocket feel. Look for the Raiders to run a lot of shotgun with him on the field. That’s where Carr’s most comfortable.

Author Tom Pelissero called Matt Schaub the unquestioned Week 1 starter at QB but liked what he's seen from Carr thus far.