OAKLAND, Calif. -- It was the first time Derek Carr had taken the field at the Oakland Coliseum since being helped off it on Christmas Eve.

After he felt the awkward tug on his right leg as he was being twisted to the ground by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Trent Cole.

After he heard the snap.

After he yelled to his sideline, "It's broke, it's broke," as he grabbed for his right ankle.

The Oakland Raiders quarterback's right fibula was indeed broken, and the Raiders' shot at making a postseason run -- they were about to go 12-3, with Carr playing at an MVP level -- were shattered as well.

So forgive Carr if he had a lump, or three, in his throat prior to the Raiders' preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night.

"Oh my goodness, it was so nice to be out there," Carr said. "What a privilege it is to be able to walk back [up] that ramp [after a game]. Last time I was here, I didn't get to do that. I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't emotional. It really was because I was just so thankful.

"I'll never take it for granted again, being able to walk up that ramp, walk over to my wife and my babies and love on them. So it was definitely emotional, but at the same time, it's over with and now it's time to play ball."

And play ball Carr did. With aplomb.

Picking up where he left off -- he finished tied for third in NFL MVP voting last year despite missing the season finale -- Carr was sharp as he picked apart the Rams defense. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 100 yards, including a 31-yard jump ball to Amari Cooper in triple-coverage down the right sideline, with touchdowns to tight end Lee Smith (a physical and nifty 19-yard catch-and-run down the seam) and to receiver Michael Crabtree (a 13-yarder in which he juked Troy Hill out of his jockstrap in the open field).

And after Carr left the game, he became the backups' biggest cheerleader.

"That's what we expect," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "I thought of being engaged, staying in the game, getting every play call, thinking the game, talking about what he's seeing in the defensive rotation and just kind of mentally playing the game. That's ideal, the way he goes about it.

"Very professional, great teammate, and that's exactly what we're looking for."

Said Carr: "I don't want to say we're not ready, because we're ready to play. Going into a game that you don't watch film on, and playing a team you have no clue what they're going to do, besides knowing coach [Wade] Phillips is their defensive coordinator, you go into that and hope to be efficient and play well."

Carr, who played into the second quarter after sitting out the preseason opener at the Arizona Cardinals, said the Raiders' urgency needs to pick up heading into this weekend's all-important third exhibition game, at the Dallas Cowboys.

The third preseason game is the one typically used as a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

"But those kinds of things are good corrections because when you hit the field in a preseason game, it's different than practice," Carr said. "The clock is running, all those things ... after a play we need to get back into the huddle. Whatever the outcome is, just get back in the huddle and get moving with a sense of urgency."

The only two "incompletions" Carr threw were a long pass to Cooper that was knocked down at the last second and a pass across the middle on a play on which Crabtree ostensibly stopped running his route.

Plus, Carr was not sacked in his three series of play, despite left tackle Donald Penn's holdout dragging on and Marshall Newhouse holding down Carr's blind side.

"I deal with Khalil [Mack] and Bruce [Irvin] enough, running by and grabbing me in practice," Carr said of the Raiders' two main pass-rushers. "I've had plenty of that. There was nothing in me that was like, 'Man, hopefully I get one hit.'

"I go into every game with our O-line, I'm trying not to get hit, also to save their butts because then they feel bad. I never did [get hit], but one of them grabbed my arm so I guess that counts."

Talk about being thankful.