Raiders pull away in second half to defeat Cardinals
The Sports Xchange
Aug 13, 2016
The bugaboo that derailed the Arizona Cardinals last season in the NFC Championship Game came back to haunt them again in their preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals turned the ball over three times -- only half as many as they committed in a humbling 49-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers -- but it was enough to help send them to a 31-10 defeat to the Raiders on Friday night.
Backup quarterback Matt McGloin threw touchdowns to Clive Walford and Andre Holmes, and George Atkinson III, listed as fifth on the team's depth chart at running back, broke two touchdown runs of 53 and 35 yards as Oakland pulled away in the second half.
Both first-team offenses had to settle for a field goal during their only action of the night. Arizona's Carson Palmer was 3 of 5 for 38 yards with no interceptions and Oakland's Derek Carr was 3 of 7 for 44 yards with no picks.
The Cardinals, who had the league's top-ranked offense a year ago (averaging 408.3 yards per game), saw a few positives despite the loss. Running back David Johnson showed the same quickness and deception as he did last season as a rookie on a nice 23-yard run and right tackle D.J. Humphries held up nicely in his debut as a starter after becoming the only healthy first-round pick a year ago to be inactive for every one of his team's games a year ago.
Rookie cornerback Brandon Williams also flashed for Arizona, breaking up a couple of passes in his first shot as a potential starter opposite All-Pro Patrick Peterson and recovering a fumble.
The Raiders led 17-10 at halftime thanks to back-to-back turnovers by the Cardinals inside the final two minutes of the first quarter.
After the teams traded field goals -- including a 53-yarder by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski -- Arizona punt returner J.J. Nelson had the ball knocked out of his hands by Korey Toomer and Johnny Holton recovered it for the Raiders at the Cardinals' 19-yard line.
On the ensuing play, McGloin hit tight end Walford for a touchdown down the left sideline. As soon as the Cardinals got the ball back, they gave it back just as quickly with Drew Stanton being intercepted by safety Nate Allen on first and 10. Allen returned the pick 27 yards, setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass from McGloin to Holmes to make it 17-3.
Arizona cut the deficit to seven when Andre Ellington scored on a 5-yard run three minutes into the second quarter. A 35-yard scamper by Ellington and a 32-yard pass play from Stanton to tight end Troy Niklas helped put the Cardinals near the goal line.
Atkinson broke through the right side and ran away from defenders for his long touchdown run, which made it 24-10 with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter. He went to his left and juked a defender close to the goal line while scoring his second TD, which came with less than four minutes to play.
Raiders defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. left the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury.
Aug 13, 2016
The bugaboo that derailed the Arizona Cardinals last season in the NFC Championship Game came back to haunt them again in their preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals turned the ball over three times -- only half as many as they committed in a humbling 49-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers -- but it was enough to help send them to a 31-10 defeat to the Raiders on Friday night.
Backup quarterback Matt McGloin threw touchdowns to Clive Walford and Andre Holmes, and George Atkinson III, listed as fifth on the team's depth chart at running back, broke two touchdown runs of 53 and 35 yards as Oakland pulled away in the second half.
Both first-team offenses had to settle for a field goal during their only action of the night. Arizona's Carson Palmer was 3 of 5 for 38 yards with no interceptions and Oakland's Derek Carr was 3 of 7 for 44 yards with no picks.
The Cardinals, who had the league's top-ranked offense a year ago (averaging 408.3 yards per game), saw a few positives despite the loss. Running back David Johnson showed the same quickness and deception as he did last season as a rookie on a nice 23-yard run and right tackle D.J. Humphries held up nicely in his debut as a starter after becoming the only healthy first-round pick a year ago to be inactive for every one of his team's games a year ago.
Rookie cornerback Brandon Williams also flashed for Arizona, breaking up a couple of passes in his first shot as a potential starter opposite All-Pro Patrick Peterson and recovering a fumble.
The Raiders led 17-10 at halftime thanks to back-to-back turnovers by the Cardinals inside the final two minutes of the first quarter.
After the teams traded field goals -- including a 53-yarder by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski -- Arizona punt returner J.J. Nelson had the ball knocked out of his hands by Korey Toomer and Johnny Holton recovered it for the Raiders at the Cardinals' 19-yard line.
On the ensuing play, McGloin hit tight end Walford for a touchdown down the left sideline. As soon as the Cardinals got the ball back, they gave it back just as quickly with Drew Stanton being intercepted by safety Nate Allen on first and 10. Allen returned the pick 27 yards, setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass from McGloin to Holmes to make it 17-3.
Arizona cut the deficit to seven when Andre Ellington scored on a 5-yard run three minutes into the second quarter. A 35-yard scamper by Ellington and a 32-yard pass play from Stanton to tight end Troy Niklas helped put the Cardinals near the goal line.
Atkinson broke through the right side and ran away from defenders for his long touchdown run, which made it 24-10 with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter. He went to his left and juked a defender close to the goal line while scoring his second TD, which came with less than four minutes to play.
Raiders defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. left the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury.
