ALAMEDA, Calif. — For the Oakland Raiders, nothing recedes like success.

Rather than build on the good feelings of their first win of the season, the Raiders instead experienced an epic face plant Sunday, losing 52-0 to the St. Louis Rams.

It was the second-largest margin of defeat in franchise history, trailing only a 55-0 loss to the Houston Oilers 53 years ago in the pre-Al Davis year of 1961.

Let’s put this in historical perspective.

In that Sept. 9, 1961, game, George Blanda was a spry 34 year old with 14 more years to play. He was a kicker and quarterback for Houston back then. Tom Flores, who went on to become one of only three coaches to win two Super Bowls who are not yet in the Hall of Fame, was in his second year as the Raiders’ quarterback.

And, in West Haven, Conn., Tony Sparano would be born almost a month later, on Oct. 7.

Sparano now surely feels very interim in his job as the Raiders’ head coach amid rumors the team is interested in San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. He wasted no time Monday putting the game in his rearview mirror and focused on the upcoming cross-bay rivalry game against the 49ers at O.co Coliseum on Sunday.

“Raiders, 49ers, that’s obviously a big thing, and we’re excited about it,” Sparano said Monday. “When you come off a game like last night and know you have that opportunity this week, in your stadium, with your fans there, it gets the players excited. We had a good meeting, made a bunch of corrections, and our players left excited.”

The Raiders were out of the game early, going three-and-out on their first three possessions while the Rams and quarterback Shaun Hill drove for three touchdowns. By the time it got to 28-0, the Raiders began turning the ball over — five times in all.

The Rams led 38-0 at halftime before shutting it down with only 41 yards of offense in the second half after having 307 in the first 30 minutes. They still managed two more touchdowns, with the final score coming on a 43-yard interception return by cornerback Trumaine Johnson against Oakland backup quarterback Matt Schaub.

That the loss came a week after a 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders’ first win of the season, made it all the more perplexing.

Defensive tackle Antonio Smith, who knows a thing or two about defeats after losing 25 of his last 26 games with the Houston Texans and now the Raiders, tried to put the St. Louis game in some kind of perspective.

“After you catch such a big high, you have to learn how to respond from being up where you were, from a position of having your back against the wall with nothing to lose,” Smith said. “Now you’ve got some positive juice going, but you’ve still got to muster up whatever you need that week to win. I think we got taught a damn good lesson.”

The loss put the status of general manager Reggie McKenzie and Sparano on precarious ground. Rumors circled via ESPN that the Raiders may make a run at trading for embattled 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh this offseason.

Sparano said he had an inkling something was amiss with the team during the week of practice, although certainly not to the degree the loss unfolded. Although Sparano is 1-6 as the interim coach after replacing Dennis Allen, the Raiders have been competitive under his watch.

“I have to be honest with you, there was one day where we didn’t have a great day in practice,” Sparano said. “That being said, this wasn’t something I saw coming. My team has been in close games for a bunch of weeks now. This just wasn’t a close game. It got away from us, and we couldn’t turn it around.”

Veteran defensive end Justin Tuck struggled to summarize the way the game unfolded.

“I really don’t have any words to describe what that feels like,” Tuck said Sunday. “If I sound dumbfounded, that’s because I am.”

Tuck felt differently Monday.

“To be honest with you, losses like this are a lot easier to get over than those ones that come down to the last drive of a game,” Tuck said. “Obviously, it’s embarrassing to be a part of something like that. But I think that drives you to kind of just have a short memory and throw it out the window.”

NOTES: Tight end Brian Leonhardt sustained a concussion for the second consecutive game. … Offensive tackle Menelik Watson left the game with an ankle injury, with Khalif Barnes taking over at right tackle and Gabe Jackson playing for the first time in three games at left guard.

REPORT CAR VS. RAMS

–PASSING OFFENSE: F — QB Derek Carr (24 of 39, 173 yards, two interceptions) was pulled for his health, but it just as easily could have been due to ineffectiveness. Matt Schaub (five of nine, 57 yards) actually looked better in terms of timing with receivers, but he delivered his specialty, a pick-six, to CB Trumaine Johnson on a 43-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: F — After the Raiders got a spark from RBs Latavius Murray and Marcel Reece against Kansas City, Murray was out with a concussion and Reece was ignored until the St. Louis game was already out of hand in the second quarter. RB Darren McFadden had 27 yards on 11 carries, RB Maurice Jones-Drew 21 yards on five attempts. The Raiders gained 61 yards on the ground, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

–PASS DEFENSE: F — Rams QB Shaun Hill was nearly perfect in the first half with a 155.7 passer rating, completing 12 of 15 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. St. Louis receivers were open short all day, getting extra yards because of Oakland’s inability to tackle in the open field. Even FS Charles Woodson had a bad day.

–RUSH DEFENSE: F — A stout effort against the Chiefs was followed up by a porous one against the Rams. St. Louis had 172 yards on 26 attempts, with RB Tre Mason gaining 117 yards on 14 attempts, including scoring runs of 89 and 8 yards. WR Tavon Austin ran 18 yards on a fly sweep for a touchdown. Hill ran 2 yards for another score.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: D-minus — George Atkinson III muffed two kickoffs, and the Raiders’ average drive start following kickoffs was the 17-yard line. T.J. Carrie returned two punts for 4 yards, getting flattened on one of them by teammate Ray-Ray Armstrong. P Marquette King knocked two punts inside the 20. PK Sebastian Janikowski had a touchback on his only kickoff.

–COACHING: F — A failure to meet anything close to pregame objectives in any area. The Raiders looked listless in scrambling to figure out the Rams’ short-receiving game, which they should have know was coming. With Oakland trailing 21-0, Tony Sparano passed on a 55-yard field goal attempt by Janikowski and paid for it when the Rams ended up with a touchdown on the ensuing possession.