Strong QB play helps the Oakland Raiders to victory in the desert

The Oakland Raiders continued their winning ways on Thursday night, hitting the road and dominating the Arizona Cardinals in the desert.

The Oakland Raiders ran their preseason record to 2-0 on Thursday night, easily dispatching the Arizona Cardinals on the road. With Derek Carr getting the party starter early, leading the team to their second opening drive touchdown of the preseason, the Raiders did not look back, looking extremely fast on offense and defense.

Rookie defensive end Clelin Ferrell was a monster all night long, putting pressure on Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense. Besides being a pass-rushing beast, he’s learning patience, which is a virtue when playing against shifty quarterbacks.

Fellow rookie Johnathan Abram played very well, and while he had some rookie bumps at times, he did have a nice 1-on-1 tackle against Cardinals running back David Johnson. He has some work to do in terms of his overall skill set, but he is going to be a special player for this defense.

Staying with the secondary, Lamarcus Joyner’s veteran status is showing. In the mid-second quarter, Joyner blitzed and forced a safety, as he used his body to prevent the quarterback from running. While Joyner played well, Gareon Conley had a pedestrian game, while Erik Harris and Nick Nelson allowed a bad touchdown in the second quarter.

Overall, the defense was very patient and played very well in the first half.

The offense was roughly about the same. The offensive line played very well even without Gabe Jackson playing. One thing to note, one the very first play from scrimmage, Richie Incognito pancaked the defensive tackle and he’s a monster blocker.

Josh Jacobs looked great on the first series and looked like a pro already. Hunter Renfrow looked awesome on a few plays, as he played in the slot mostly throughout the game and showed his shiftiness.

There was a short screen where he looked like a replica of Wes Welker circa 2013 with New England. Another star to look at is tight end Derek Carrier. He caught a touchdown and a few other passes in traffic while catching two first-down catches as well. He also ran a perfect fade route for a touchdown against a corner.

He’s listed second on the depth chart, but I don’t see the team sitting him if he keeps playing like he did tonight. Staying with the passing game, undrafted rookie Keelan Doss once again proved he is deserving of a roster spot this summer.

The first play in Raiders territory for the Cardinals wasn’t until 4:00 left in the second quarter. The defense played extremely well and the defensive line, in particular, played the best. Looking at this team, the overall speed is much improved, and they have been surprisingly dominant early in the preseason.