The first place Arizona Cardinals will travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders this week.  Arizona is coming off a 30-20 victory over the Washington Redskins with the return of their quarterback, Carson Palmer, as they continue to lead the NFC West.  The Raiders on the other hand finished Week 6 with a disappointing 31-28 loss to the first place San Diego Chargers in a game they should have won.

A few former Raiders will be making their return to the Coliseum this weekend in Palmer, Jared Veldheer, Tommy Kelly, and Matt Shaughnessy.  Raider Nation had mixed feelings about Palmer, and Veldheer was a player they hoped to keep this offseason, but his departure worked out for Oakland.  The Cardinals continue to win and the return of Palmer will give them an extra boost on offense.  Last week was his first game back after missing five games and he threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns.  No doubt he returns to Oakland with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Palmer has a strong offense to work with and a pretty good defense capable of preserving  a lead.

For the Raiders, they showed a lot of improvement and promise for the future in last week’s matchup, but this is the NFL and there are no moral victories.  Oakland opened up their offensive playbook, which worked to their advantage as Derek Carr threw four touchdown passes, making him the first rookie quarterback in Raiders history to throw four TD passes in a game.  Carr’s solid play was executed with the help of his receiving core of Andre Holmes, Brice Butler, and a good run game with Darren McFadden.  Unfortunately the Oakland defense was unable to stop the powerful Chargers offense when they needed to most, and the Raiders continue to struggle finding a way to finish games.  They are 0-5 and continue to look for their first win of 2014 after losing now 11 games in a row.

Players to Watch

Carson Palmer, Quarterback, Cardinals

Palmer will have a bit more emotion heading into this game.  It will be only his second game since returning from a shoulder injury and he’s been known to throw a pick or two in a game.  He will face a struggling Raiders defense that is prone to giving up the big play; Palmer and the Cardinals will look to exploit his former team and put a lot of points on the board.
 

Larry Fitzgerald, Wide Receiver, Cardinals

Last week Fitzgerald had six receptions for 98 yards and his first touchdown of the season.  He is Palmer’s biggest, and most threatening, offensive target.  Oakland’s secondary is a work in progress  and a star receiver like Fitzgerald has an opportunity to have a big game against them.

Derek Carr, Quarterback, Raiders

The young rookie continues to impress and put up some nice numbers last week against a solid Chargers defense.  His throws were right on the money for the most part and with a better offensive scheme, he was able to lead the Raiders downfield for four touchdowns.  The Cardinals have a good defense, but Carr’s development is always something to keep an eye on every week as he gets better with each snap.

Charles Woodson, Free Safety, Raiders

With Palmer so prone to the interception, the Raiders defense will look to capitalize.  Woodson only has one pick on the year and it happened against the Jets in Week 1.  The future Hall of Famer will look to add to that total this week against the Cardinals.

Final Prediction (Cardinals 27 Raiders 24)

Oakland played a hard fought game last week and will build off their improvements under interim coach Tony Sparano, but they will come up short again this week.  The Cardinals are a good team in a great division, it’s games like these they need to win.  Arizona takes this one to improve to 5-1 while the Raiders stay winless.