Oakland Raiders: 3 Standouts from Preseason Week 2 vs. Cardinals
The Oakland Raiders came out firing against the Cardinals in Week 2 of the preseason but who were the standout performers in primetime?
Everyone in silver and black celebrate — the Oakland Raiders are now 2-0 to start the 2019 NFL preseason. On Thursday night, Jon Gruden’s team went on the road to take on No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. They were able to walk out of Glendale with an emphatic 33-26 victory that left a lot to be optimistic about.
Though the third-string defensive backups had their troubles, the Raiders first- and second-team units were largely dominant on Thursday night. The offense moved the ball consistently when on the field early in the matchup and the defense harassed Murray and the rest of the Cardinals offense throughout the night.
And though Antonio Brown was on the sidelines, seeing him in a Raiders uniform in the wake of all the drama around the wide receiver was certainly a sight for sore eyes in Raider Nation.
With that kind of effort, Oakland surely saw a number of players really put their stamp on this game and make an impact. But who among those players were the ones that stood out the most? That’s what we’re going to look at.
Before we get into the three primary standouts for the Oakland Raiders in their second game of the preseason, let’s take a look at some players who were good but just missed the cut.
Notable Omissions
Quarterback Derek Carr certainly deserves a bit of love for his work early in this game against the Cardinals. Entering a possible make-or-break season, the Fresno State product went just 2-of-2 for 40 yards and a touchdown but looked poised and fully in control when on the field.
On defense, Maurice Hurst and Benson Mayowa weren’t big on the box score but they were pressuring the Cardinals offense consistently from the edge and up the middle. While players like Clelin Ferrell dipped in their performance last week, Hurst and Mayowa made up for the decline with their performances on Thursday night.
Finally, Hunter Renfrow made his first catches of the preseason and looked quite good and comfortable on the field against Arizona. He’ll need to keep progressing and showing that but Thursday night was a positive sign for the rookie.