NFL 2019 Preseason: Week 2 Raiders Recap

NFL 2019 Preseason: Week 2 Raiders Recap

After winning their preseason opener over the Rams 14-3, the Raiders traveled to face the Arizona Cardinals. Last week Jon Gruden gave his offensive starters the night off. This game saw the first action for Derek Carr and rookie Josh Jacobs. Antonio Brown again did not play, and the organization’s patience with his behavior was wearing thin. 

 Three straight handoffs to Josh Jacobs went for 6, 8 and 6 yards. Jon Gruden has his bell cow to pound the rock. Derek Carr then floated a perfect sideline pass to Ty Williams for a 27 yard gain. A defensive penalty for lowering the head to initiate contact had the Raiders quickly at the Arizona 14. Two plays later, a swing pass in the flat to Ryan Grant went for a 13 yard touchdown. 6 plays were all it took for the Raiders to go 75 yards in 3 minutes. The Raiders led 7-0, and Carr and Jacobs were done for the night.

During the NFL Draft, Gruden resisted the urge to trade up and draft Kyler Murray. The Cardinals stayed pat at the top spot, took Murray first, and shipped Josh Rosen off to Miami. Murray looked good in his debut last week. This week he started at his own 10 yard line due to a penalty on the kickoff return. On the first play from scrimmage there was a penalty against rookie defender Clelin Ferrell. Yet the Raiders got the ball back at their own 43, and the offense kept rolling.

Mike Glennon was in at quarterback, and a pass to a wide open DeAndre Washington in the flat went for a 35 yard gain. A completion to Darren Waller set up 1st and goal at the 10. On 3rd and goal from the 6, Glennon overthrew a wide open Waller in the end zone incomplete. Daniel Carlson hit the 25 yard field goal. The Raiders led 10-0, but it was a missed opportunity. Glennon would not make that mistake again. Al Davis was smiling in football heaven as Glennon went bombs away to Rico Gafford for a 53 yard touchdown. 

Meanwhile, Gruden’s celebration quickly turned to anger due to a penalty on the extra point try. It was good anyway, and the Raiders led 17-0 in the first quarter. Gruden was still fired up on the sideline. The Raiders were doing everything right on both sides of the ball. Kyler Murray did convert a 3rd and 13, but an offensive penalty nullified it. On the other sideline, Glennon was on fire. In the second quarter he led a 12 play, 67 yard drive that ate up 7 minutes of clock. Jalen Richard got some tough yards on the ground. Glennon capped the drive with a perfectly thrown fade to the corner to Derek Carrier for a 2 yard touchdown. The Raiders were blasting the Cardinals to pieces. The Raiders led 24-0 after only 21 minutes of football. Both of these teams were awful last year, but the Raiders seemed vastly improved. 

Things got worse for the Cardinals when Murray made a rookie mistake. On 3rd and 11 from his own 10, Murray got sacked for a safety. Had Murray just taken the hit, the ball would have been on the one yard line. His voluntarily moving backward without being touched led to the safety. Midway through the second quarter, the Raiders led 26-0. After a completely miserable outing, Murray was done for the night. The Arizona defense finally got a stop, and Brett Hundley came in at quarterback. 

An incomplete deep ball led to a gift defensive pass interference call at the Oakland 30. After an offensive holding call, Hundley under heavy pressure and a collapsing pocket threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to get the Cardinals on the board with 3:45 left in the half. The Cardinals got the ball back with 1:45 left in the half and Hundley moved them easily again. Yet at the 5 yard line, Paul Guenther’s defense stiffened up. The Cardinals settled for a field goal to trail 26-10 at halftime.

Hundley continued to move the ball well in the third quarter. The Raiders recovered a fumble, but it was reversed too down by contact. A well thrown ball on third down would have meant another first down, but it was dropped. Zane Gonzalez nailed another field goal from 45 yards out as the Cardinals got within 26-13. With 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Glennon was done for the night and third strong quarterback Nathan Peterman came in. Glennon finished 11 of 14 for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns. Murray was 3 for 8 for 12 yards and a safety given up. 

Peterman led a 15 play, 80 yard drive that ate 8:40 off the clock. Peterman completed all 7 of his passes on the drive. Mack Brown ran it in up the gut from 3 yards out. With 11 minutes left in regulation, the Raiders led 33-13. The 3 Raiders quarterbacks combined went 21 of 24 for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. All 3 quarterbacks led a touchdown drive. 

For the first 56 minutes, the game was a laugher. The Raiders got very lazy closing out the game. The Cardinals punted on 4th and 2 from inside their own 10 yard line. A running into the kicker penalty gave the Cardinals an automatic first down. This allowed the Cardinals third string quarterback to throw a 59 yard touchdown bomb that was helped along when the defender completely mistimes the jump. The Cardinals were within 33-20 with 2:50 left, but Cliff Kingsbury was not going to risk a preseason injury on an onside kick. He opted to kick it deep as the Raiders tried to run out the clock. 

The Cardinals got it back at their own 19 with 1:43 left. Now it was their fourth string quarterback Drew Anderson. On 4th and 10 from the Oakland 34 with 14 seconds left, Anderson escaped and raced to the Oakland 12 and got out of bounds with 3 seconds left. Anderson threw the 12 yard touchdown on the last play of the game as Gruden shook his head. In a regular season game, league rules would require trying an extra point. in preseason, the game was over without the attempt. Although the score only showed a 7 point game, the Raiders thrashed the Cardinals when it counted. Even Gruden had to be pleased with how his starters looked. A 26-0 lead will give fans for optimism, rather than the closer final score. The Raiders are improved. 33-26 Raiders

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