It’s still August
Raiders rout Cardinals 33-26; Arizona gains 12 yards in 4 possessions by Murray
Antonio Brown looked happy warming up at State Farm Stadium. It was the Cardinals starters who left with a headache.
For most of the first half, the Cardinals found it difficult to both contain and attack the Raiders in a 33-26 loss at home on Thursday. The final score masked earlier problems. Oakland put up a 26-0 lead before backup quarterback Brett Hundley ended Arizona's scoring drought.
Kyler Murray and the starting offense stayed out for four drives, none of which were inspiring. The defense was also underwhelming. In the first half, Kliff Kingsbury's team consistently overachieved in one area: penalties.
After the game, Kingsbury downplayed any concerns. He reiterated that it is the preseason, and was not alarmed that Murray finished just 3 of 8 with 12 yards passing.
"I thought he made really good decisions," Kingsbury said. "We missed some throws that were close on some things. But I thought under some adversity, penalties backed us up in long-yardage situations, I thought he made good decisions all night.”
“We just hurt ourselves with those penalties and couldn't really get things rolling."
The problems for the defense were apparent early on. The Cardinals, already thin at corner, opted to start Patrick Peterson and Tramaine Brock Sr. Kingsbury said after the game that cornerback Robert Alford will be out for a significant amount of time with a lower leg injury.
The Raiders moved quickly on the ground, with running back Josh Jacobs gaining 20 yards on the first three plays of the game.
Then, quarterback Derek Carr connected with Tyrell Williams, covered by Brock, for an easy 27-yard pickup. A flag on safety Budda Baker gave the Raiders an additional 14 yards on the play. They need only two more plays to find the end zone.
Carr stayed out for just one drive before backup and former Cardinals quarterback Mike Glennon took over. He put up a 53-yard touchdown pass on his old team and finished 11 of 14 with 175 yards and another touchdown. The Raiders scored on their first three drives before punter A.J. Cole had any work to do. Meanwhile, Andy Lee got plenty of time on the field.
Murray saw just two first downs, each on penalties. He connected once each with David Johnson, KeeSean Johnson and Christian Kirk. He also had notable overthrows to Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald. The larger problem was that Murray and the starting offense couldn't find any way to stay on the field. They went three-and-out on two of the first three drives. They never advanced further than their own 34-yard line.
"It's obvious everyone felt ugly on the sideline after the first four drives," Murray said. "But that's just part of it. It's good for us to see that, it's good for us to feel that, and obviously, we're very vanilla right now, and I think it's hard to judge when we get out there, but we'll be ready to roll."
Their last drive was particularly bitter for Murray. After a sack and an incomplete pass, his final play on the field was a safety. He rolled over to land sitting upright, legs stretched out, hands in his lap, looking down and looking dejected. Murray does not like to lose, and he does not do it often.
A week earlier against the Chargers, he asked to stay on the field when he didn't score on his opening drive. This week, he knew after the safety it was time to call it a night.
"It was time to get out of there," he said with a laugh. "That was about it."
While his scrambling can often help him extend plays, it looked a little more frenetic on Thursday. He was called for false starts twice, which he and Kingsbury believe is "an ongoing conversation" with officials. Few things went in Murray's favor, but he was not dejected postgame.
Eventually, Hundley came in, and the Cardinals began to chip away at the lead, albeit against the Raiders' backups. For the second game in a row, he connected with wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the end zone. The 40-yard pass coupled with a penalty on Oakland made it a one-play drive to get the Cardinals on the board.
Mason Cole once again got reps at center with the second-string offense after starting at left guard. He looked more comfortable there.
Hundley finished 10 of 15 with 139 passing yards and one touchdown. He connected nicely with running back Chase Edmonds, most noticeably with consecutive short passes of 17 and 14 yards. Hundley also led the team in rushing. Edmonds did not get any carries, and Johnson had just six yards on four carries. For Johnson, the performance was reminiscent of last season in all of the wrong ways.
After Hundley, Charles Kanoff came in. His highlight came with a 59-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Andy Isabella, who made his professional debut. The deep left play was Isabella's lone reception of the night. Kicker Zane Gonzalez had no problems tacking on the extra point. He also added two field goals, from 22 and 45 yards out.
On the last play of the game, fourthstring quarterback Drew Anderson added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Wilson to pull within seven.
The second game of the preseason brings limited reps for starters, and Kingsbury did not reveal any grandiose offense. This was not a full preview of the season to come, but individual miscues will still need a long look.
"It obviously wasn't as polished as we would like it to be, but it was a learning experience," Murray said.