Photo credit: youtube.com
By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor
Looking to build off their victory over the Los Angeles Rams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum last Saturday night in both team’s first exhibition game, the Raiders will travel for the first time in 2019 to Glendale to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday at State Farm Stadium.
Kickoff for this exhibition game will be at 5:00 p.m. PDT, and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
Last week, the Raiders (1-0) defeated the visiting Rams, 14-3, as both teams held out many of its starters including quarterbacks Derek Carr and Jared Goff, respectively and opted to play younger guys and backups.
With Carr on the sideline wearing team issued sweats, Oakland started seven-year veteran Mike Glennon in the first-half, while letting third-year player Nathan Peterman handle the second-half to do battle for the QB2 position behind Carr.
Glennon completed 17-of-25 passes for 200 yards, but threw two interceptions, including one inside the red zone shortly before halftime.
Glennon did lead Oakland to their first touchdown of the exhibition season on the team’s first drive, which culminated in a 7-yard rushing touchdown by backup running back DeAndre Washington.
In the six drives that Glennon led Oakland’s offense: one led to a touchdown, two ended in interceptions and three ended in punts.
Albeit it was the first exhibition game for Glennon, he didn’t show that he was ready to be QB2 behind Carr.
Peterman played decent, but didn’t set the world on fire with his play.
Outside of the 50-yard scramble that setup Oakland’s second score of the game, Peterman was purely pedestrian. On the scoring drive, Peterman was flushed out of the pocket on third-and-4 from Oakland’s own 42-yard line before sliding down at the Rams’ 8-yard line.
Two plays later, Peterman threw a 3-yard touchdown to Alameda High School and UC Davis product Keelan Doss for a 14-3 lead that the Raiders never surrendered.
“He can run,” Oakland coach Jon Gruden said during his postgame press conference. “As he continues to gain command of the offense he’s going to be an interesting guy to watch.”
“It was a super clean pocket and I was able to get out to my left.” Peterman said. “Took off and I was about to slide then noticed that there was nobody else there. I think it was because of guys blocking downfield, guys making big plays for me. Tried to get in there, didn’t quite make it.”
Typically, the second exhibition game is usually when we get to see more of the projected starting lineup. So don’t be surprised if Carr starts the game and plays 2-3 series before giving way to Glennon and Peterman.
Defensively, the Raiders didn’t have that much to write home about but, second-year defensive end Arden Key played well. Key recorded a sack and two hurries. Oakland had one of the worse pass rushes in the league last season, finishing last in sacks with just 13.
Arizona (1-0) defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 17-13, at State Farm Stadium.
Rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, who the Cardinals drafted No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, made his pro debut against the Chargers and looked smooth. Murray completed 6-of-7 passes for 44 yards, his longest completion was a 14-yard short pass to star running back David Johnson.
The 2018 Heiseman Trophy winner is slated to be Arizona’s starter in Week 1 when the Cardinals host the Detroit Lions, so the Cardinals played it safe with its new franchise quarterback who only played one series on the night.
“I was just going out there and being myself, like always. Trusting in my abilities,” Murray said after the game. “I wanted to score. I wanted to go back in. I was definitely itching for more.”
Backup quarterback Brett Hundley saw most of the action following Murray’s exit, completed 10-of-14 passes for 104 yards and a 22-yard touchdown pass to second-year wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the second quarter.
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