The Oakland Raiders looked like a brand new team last Sunday against San Diego, but can they finish through this time against Arizona?
Nobody really knew what to expect when Tony Sparano was named the interim head coach of the Raiders after Dennis Allen was fired for an embarrassing 0-4 start.
Nobody else probably thought that they would stay neck and neck with the Chargers, nearly winning the game until the defense allowed a late touchdown and rookie Derek Carr ended his stellar four touchdown performance with a game-losing interception.
So while the Raiders still lost 31-28 against San Diego to fall to 0-5, Raider Nation is optimistic that the 11-game winless streak ends on Sunday against Arizona.
Like San Diego, Arizona has been hot this season. They’re 4-1 and have beaten teams like the Chargers, the New York Giants and divisional rival San Francisco, however the Cardinals biggest issue going into Sunday is how they’ll deal with their injuries. Arizona lost linebacker Matt Shaughnessy for half of the season along with defensive end Calais Campbell for a few weeks as well. Quarterback Carson Palmer (listed as questionable) also returned for the first time since the season opener last Sunday, throwing for 250 yards and two touchdowns against Washington.
While Palmer and company will look to stay on top of the NFC West, they’re taking on a different Raiders team than the one that started 0-4.
For the first time all season, Oakland looked fully competitive. Rookie quarterback Derek Carr threw for 282 yards with four touchdowns, leading Oakland to 396 yards offense. One thing we learned about Carr on Sunday is that he’s not afraid to attack the secondary. He completed five of six attempts against Darrell Revis at New England in Week 3 and attacked cornerback Brandon Flowers last week.
With that in mind, expect him to go after Cards’ corner Patrick Peterson this Sunday.
“He’s not being spooked really by anybody that way,” Sparano said.
“It’s not an arrogant thing. It’s not one of those things at all,” Carr mentioned. “Trust me, I know where they are and I’m very careful about where we’re throwing it, what routes we’re throwing.”
“Patrick Peterson, obviously, is one of – it depends who you talk to – is the best, or one of the best corners/return guys in the NFL.”
Oakland’s run game also looked like everyone thought it would originally look like for the first time all season, racking 114 yards one the ground.
The difference in the team’s play in Sparano and Allen was easily seen, as the players seemed to play more for Sparano. Oakland will need to play with the same fire at home if they’re going to salvage something out of their season.
While Carr and the offense have shown signs of life, it’s the defense that has to get everything figured out going into Sunday’s game against Arizona and beyond.
Oakland cannot stop the pass or the run, and cannot stop teams on third down. They allowed teams to convert 50 percent of their third downs going into Sunday’s game against San Diego, and allowed the Chargers to go 8-for-14 on third down, including allowing them to convert four third downs on their go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth.
Arizona went 7-for-17 on third down against the Redskins last Sunday and are converting on third down 40 percent of the time so far. Oakland’s defense has to step up against the run and get pressure on Palmer if they’re going to have a shot for their first win of the season.
The task ahead isn’t impossible. The Raiders took a big step forward against San Diego after crawling, tripping and stumbling out of the gate in the first quarter of the season. However moral victories don’t put wins on the record and Oakland will have to use the momentum from last week if they’re going to have a shot against the NFC West leading Cardinals.
While every win in a must-win game in the NFL, Oakland cannot afford to lose this week, period. They need to win for themselves, the city of Oakland, Raider Nation and the late Oaktown Pirate Azel Wendell Grasty Sr.
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