The Sports Xchange

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson, who dislocated his shoulder in the final minute of the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, played the entire game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens with a protective harness on his shoulder.

“How about Charles Woodson, finding a way to play,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “That’s what makes this game so special.”

Woodson is literally a player from the last century, so to say he is old-school tough is more than just an expression — it’s literal. Drafted by the Raiders in 1998, Woodson is 39 years old and in his 18th season, which is already defying the odds.

But to play the week after dislocating his shoulder was beyond realistic expectations. He was hampered enough by the shoulder to miss a couple of tackles, but his presence clearly had an impact on the rest of the defense.

“Once they put my shoulder back in place, I never intended on missing the game,” Woodson said. “I could say my mind was made up pretty quickly. It was just convincing the coaches, the staff, that I was going to be able to go.”

Woodson said the difference between 1-1 and 0-2 is considerable.

“The last couple of years, it’s been (0-2),” Woodson said. “This time around, we went out and showed that we can claw back into game, that we can get stops when we need stops. We feel they got too many yards and too many points, but our offense moved up and down the field, kept us on the sidelines and that was huge for us. It all works together.”

–Wide receiver Seth Roberts picked a fine time to record his only reception of the game, a 12-yard dart from Carr with 26 seconds remaining that served as the game-winner.

Roberts was somewhat of a surprise activation, given he had three drops in the opener and that Rod Streater was made inactive.

“It just gets my confidence up,” Roberts said. “You’re not going to catch everything, but it’s about how you come back. I came back strong. I have a lot to work on, but I will get better.”

Carr said Roberts read the coverage perfectly on the game-winning play.

“I had to throw it low and tried to protect him, and he did a great job of going down and making that catch,” Carr said.

–Defensive end Khalil Mack got more pressure on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco than he did the previous week on Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, but the results were the same — no sacks.

Mack whiffed on one sack attempt when he went for a strip and came up with air, with Flacco escaping and throwing a pass.

“It matters to me,” Mack said. “It matters to this team. It matters to the defense. That’s one of the things we have to look at and assess, and get better.”

Notes: Tight end Lee Smith played 41 snaps, the most in his position group, caught a pass and blocked well against Baltimore. … Running back Roy Helu Jr. was active for the first time and played four snaps, although he had no carries and was not targeted for a pass. … Defensive end Justin Tuck played 66 of the game’s 82 snaps, the most of any defensive lineman. … Wide receiver Michael Crabtree was targeted 16 times on 46 pass plays, catching a team-high nine for 111 yards. … Fullback Marcel Reece played 10 snaps and was targeted twice on pass plays, catching one pass for 16 yards.