It wasn't the prettiest opening night for the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Klint Kubiak's team came out swinging but quickly lost steam, and several glaring issues weighed them down throughout the contest as they fell to the Arizona Cardinals 27-14 in Week 1 of the preseason.
That said, it wasn't all bad for the Silver and Black, and it's tough to be too upset with the franchise quarterback playing well in his debut. Plus, neither the offense nor the defense is showing their tricks or putting many wrinkles in. And Arizona got to start practice earlier and has a game under its belt.
But this Raiders team still has a lot to clean up before they take the field for joint practices with the Houston Texans and another preseason game in six days. Looking at both sides of the coin, here are the winners and losers from the fairly lopsided opener against the Cardinals.
Winners and losers from Raiders' preseason loss to the Cardinals
Winners
1. Fernando Mendoza
Mendoza looked like a franchise quarterback taking his first step on Thursday. He trusted his arm to make tight-window throws, he didn't panic in the pocket, and he used his legs to extend plays. He needs to not take as many hits, but other than that, Mendoza really looked promising in his debut.
2. Mike Washington Jr.
Washington Jr. provided a spark with his 53-yard jaunt, displaying vision, speed and strength all at once as he cut back, stiff-armed a defender and raced toward the sideline. He also caught a check-down that was ultimately nullified, but he made himself available as a pass-catcher multiple times.
3. Jack Bech
Bech came to play in the opener. He helped keep two drives alive with a pair of tough catches on third down and made a great snag in the end zone to help Mendoza complete his first touchdown pass. Bech is always a solid run-blocker, too, so he really made a strong impression.
4. Patrick Johnson
Johnson rose from relative obscurity to being praised on the broadcast, which is always a good sign. He first flashed with a nice tackle on special teams, then he made a handful of tackles on defense. Johnson capped off the night with a high-effort sack and another quarterback hit.
5. Michael Mayer
Mayer looked like an integral part of the first-team offense's game plan, and he answered the call. Just a few plays after a six-yard catch, Mayer caught the ball in the flat and made a nice move for a 13-yard touchdown reception. Very good showing for him in limited action.
6. Greedy Vance Jr.
Vance Jr.'s only real miscue was giving up a catch near the sideline that was more good offense than bad defense. Other than that, he had a few solid plays in coverage and made a nice tackle to prevent a first down at one point as well. He made a game-high 10 tackles, building his case even more.
7. First-team offense
The whole operation looked smooth out there, even without Brock Bowers, as Kubiak established the run and Kirk Cousins spread the ball around to multiple receivers to punch in a touchdown after converting on several third downs. Their only drive was sustained and smooth for pay dirt.
Losers
1. Rob Leonard and the defense
Let's not freak out just yet, but that was a pretty awful start for Leonard. His unit looked disjointed and outmatched throughout the depth chart, as they couldn't get off the field on third down, gave up easy completions and failed to stop the run. Something has to change, or the players need to learn quickly.
2. Young CB trio
Jermod McCoy gave up two touchdowns and a handful of other catches, Zeke Masses got worked on a few slants and missed a tackle or two, and Darien Porter gave up a touchdown on the opening drive. After so much hype surrounding this group, they failed to live up to it in game one.
3. Aidan O'Connell
O'Connell sat on the bench for a long time and was working with the third-team offense, but he just couldn't find a rhythm. He connected on a few big plays, but overall, the unit was out of whack, and he finished just 4-for-13 passing. O'Connell also took a pretty bad sack at a crucial moment.
4. Kansei Matsuzawa
Matsuzawa booted his first kickoff short of the landing zone and out of bounds, which was a negative double whammy. He also missed a 38-yard field goal, which isn't ideal for a kicker whose calling card is accuracy and not leg strength. This may be tough for him to come back from.
5. Defensive line
Without Maxx Crosby, this group failed to create much pressure, with Patrick Johnson, Cian Slone and Malcolm Koonce being the exceptions. They also struggled against the run, as the Cardinals gashed the Raiders for 156 rushing yards. Linebackers and defensive backs had to clean a lot up.
6. The little things
Penalties were an issue in all three phases of the game, which is never a good thing. This is a young team with a brand-new coaching staff, so a learning curve is expected, but this team needs to have a bit more focus on basic fundamentals like playing clean and setting the edge, among other things.
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