It has been a long time since the Oakland Raiders' silver-and-black has been worn by a defense that matches the intensity of their fanbase.
2015 NFL preseason scores and results: Raiders dominate early before Cardinals rally to win, 30-23
The Raiders led, 15-3, at halftime before the Cardinals’ backups scored three late touchdowns.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
That might be changing.
Sunday night, Khalil Mack led a dominant first-half performance by the Oakland defense, sacking Carson Palmer twice and forcing a fumble by David Johnson. With the Arizona Cardinals' offensive line unable to protect Palmer, he also threw a pair of interceptions, both by Nate Allen.
Sadly for the fans in the Black Hole, the Raiders weren't able to take advantage of the defense's performance. Oakland ran for 1 yard in the first half, and while Derek Carr hit some passes, he wasn't able to get the offense into the end zone. That led to five Sebastian Janikowski field goals in the first half and a 15-3 lead at the intermission.
Jack Del Rio wasn't happy with his team's red zone offense, so he sent Carr and the starters back out for the second half. Things didn't get better -- the Raiders drove down to the Arizona 14 before Carr threw an off-balance screen pass that was intercepted by Cariel Brooks and returned 81 yards for a touchdown. If the rookie cornerback had somehow missed the interception, another Cardinals defensive back (Jimmy Legree) was also in perfect position for a pick-six.
That was it for Carr, who finished 18-for-34 for 213 yards. His most impressive plays came when he hit rookie Amari Cooper, who showed that he wasn't a fluke at the University of Alabama. Cooper caught four passes for 62 yards, including a spectacular 36-yard catch-and-run where he beat Patrick Peterson on a comeback route, then dragged the Pro Bowler down the field.
Palmer struggled behind his sieve-like offensive line, completing just 8 of 22 passes for 103 yards and the two interceptions.
The offenses came to life once both coaches turned to their backups. Arizona's Christian Ponder and Phillip Sims led touchdown drives to give the Cardinals a 23-15 lead, but Oakland third-stringer Matt McGloin hit Kris Durham for a 4-yard touchdown pass and then hooked up with Brice Butler for the tying two-point conversion.
Sims hit second-year tight end Ifeanyi Momah over the middle, and Momah broke two tackles before being pulled down at the Oakland 17 after a 38-yard gain. Three plays later, with the Raiders expecting a run up the middle to set up a field goal, Marion Grice burst through the line for the winning touchdown.
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