Nick Mullen's sterling debut with the 49ers underscores just how sorry the Raiders have become

All those players who want to play for the Oakland Raiders so much had better start showing up soon.

The sorry state of the Raiders in Jon Gruden's return to coaching became even sorrier Thursday night. They helped make San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens look like a star in his first NFL game. And they probably replaced the 49ers in the league's most pitiable team by losing to their Bay Area rivals, 34-3, in a "Thursday Night Football" matchup that should have come up with a warning label, "Do not stare directly at this game . Protective eyewear is recommended. "

Either Mullens is really good. Gold the Raiders are really, really bad.

For one night, at least, Mullens was a fantastic success story. He was the Niners' fill-in starter Thursday with C.J. Beathard, the fill-in starter for injured franchisee Jimmy Garoppolo, hampered by a wrist injury. He was signed by the 49ers last year as an undrafted rookie of Southern Miss and was promoted to the position of the 53-man roster when Garoppolo suffered his season-ending knee injury.

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He resembled a Pro Bowler against the Raiders, connecting on 16 of 22 pbades for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw an interception and had a pbading rating of 151.9, not too far from a perfect mark of 158.3.

How good was he? His Twitter account went from unverified to verified during the game.

He's got to accept over-the-phone congratulations from fellow Southern Miss alum Brett Favre while appearing on the NFL's Network's postgame show.

"I'm not surprised at how he played one bit. … All he needed, honestly, was an opportunity, "Favre said.

It was a very good night for Nick Mullens, left, here with Kurt Warner on the NFL Network's postgame set. (AP Photo / Jeff Chiu)

He had a better start than Joe Montana or Steve Young.

"It's everything I dreamed of," Mullens said in a postgame interview with Fox in which he appeared to be holding back tears of joy. "It's only one game, though, which is very important. I'm calm, cool and collected until I get to bring my emotions out. And they'll come out. I just love football. I've grown up playing since second grade. And this is why you play, for something like this. "

It's a lost season for the 49ers, who ended up a six-game losing streak and upped their record to 2-7. Their high hopes were dashed when Garoppolo got hurt. Under these circumstances, they should keep playing Mullens and see what they have. Could he be the next coming of Tony Romo, the trainer who had so much success with the Dallas Cowboys after being given his chance by Bill Parcells? The odds are against it. But stranger things have happened.

Speaking of lost seasons, it just gets uglier for Gruden and the Raiders. Their record dropped to 1-7. Is it too late for Gruden to go back to the "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth? Is owner Mark Davis having second thoughts about the $ 100 million that he handed to Gruden, via a 10-year contract, to return to the sideline?

Thursday's dreadful showing came after Gruden told Fox's Howie Long in an interview with a potential Raiders' turnaround.

"I got a cell phone just like you and everybody else," Gruden said. "I'm getting a lot of phone calls from people here. I'm just telling you, they're dying to play for the Raiders. And to have a salary and a chance to talk to the people that you really want to wear the Silver and Black, the guys you really want to wear the Silver and Black and represent this team, that's exciting. "

Never mind that Gruden is in the grips of the Raiders and the Raiders are supposed to report any such conversations initiated by players.

Jon Gruden Coach and the Raiders, who are 1-7. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

The Raiders traded standout rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago before the season. Amari Cooper, a two-time pro Bowl selection, to Dallas last week. They have ambaded a trio of first-round picks in next year's draft. They will have an abundant salary cap space.

For the Raiders just to break even on their trades, however, they'll have to hit and hit their draft picks. They have been able to be a player of the year, as Mack was, and a capable receiver of reaching Pro Bowls. That gets them back to even from Mack and Cooper's trading.

This is a franchise which, with its move to Las Vegas, is still in the works, where it will be played next season.

It's a team with a $ 100 million coach who's not winning and a $ 125 million quarterback, Derek Carr, who was sat down by Gruden in favor of AJ McCarron with the game of hand Thursday.

It's a roster that seems devoid of talent. It's a group of players that looked dispirited Thursday night.

"We struggled defensively," Gruden said at his postgame news conference Thursday. "We gave up too many big plays. … I take responsibility for it. "

Gruden acknowledged late Thursday that the Raiders are facing criticism that is justified at the moment. But he remained defiantly optimistic about the future.

"I know it's not pretty right now," Gruden said, but added soon thereafter: "We're gonna build a championship team here."

Troy Aikman in the Fox broadcast booth for the game, there were comparisons made between the Raiders' deals and the Herschel Walker used by Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones to put Dallas on its way to winning three Super Bowl titles in a four-year span in the 1990s.