The Oakland Raiders hosted the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football for their third preseason game.  It was a defensive battle as both starting offenses struggled to move the ball and strike in the endzone.  The Raiders fell to the Cards 30-23, and are now 1-2 on the preseason.  

It’s clear Derek Carr and his new targets are still working on their communication and timing on routes, but the ACDC duo of Amari Cooper and Carr has what it takes to be dynamic in this league.  

Cooper had four receptions for 62 yards after being targeted nine times in the game.  One of those receptions was a 36-yarder against Cardinals defender Patrick Peterson.  

A name that has been drawing quite a bit of attention is Seth Roberts, who had three receptions for 52 yards.  

An often unutilized player in Marcel Reece also had one of the biggest offensive plays for the Raiders, a 41-yard reception from Carr.  

Tight end Mychal Rivera also had a few good catches in the game, being targeted four times and coming down with it three times for a total of 42 yards.  Rivera often shows signs of great talent, but can be unreliable.  

Carr finished the game 18/24 and 213 yards, but made one really bad decision that resulted in a pick-six; the quarterback has yet to throw a touchdown pass this preseason.  

Defensively, the Raiders starters looked impressive.  Khalil Mack was a force on the field, pressuring Carson Palmer and coming down for two sacks on the game.  

Rookie Mario Edwards Jr., also had two sacks Sunday night.

Edwards and Mack also combined to hit the quarterback six times.

Veteran Justin Tuck didn’t suit up Sunday night, but the defense still proved to be dynamic in this matchup.

Nate Allen had an impressive game as well, intercepting Palmer on two occasions.  

The run game was nonexistent for both teams.  Latavius Murray was held to only one yard on seven carries while Andre Ellington was held to just 19 yards.  

Trent Richardson was the Raiders leading rusher in the game with 19 yards, but has since been released by Oakland.  

Sebastian Janikowski got some work in with the Raiders unable to capitalize on red zone opportunities.  The kicker went 5/5, putting the Raiders up 15-3 at the half.  

The Raiders did suffer an injury in this matchup.  Menelik Watson suffered a ruptured achilles, and will miss the entire 2015 season.  A tough break for Watson and the Raiders as the right tackle was having a good camp and preseason.  

Overall, the defense played extremely well.  They stopped the run, pressured the quarterback and kept the Cardinals starting offense at bay.  Despite having no success with the run, the offense was still able to move the ball, but were disappointed in the fact that the starters failed to reach the endzone.  Only the Matt McGloin, Brice Butler duo was able to get the Raiders a touchdown and two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.  

The Raiders finish off the preseason Thursday night in Seattle against the defending NFC champion Seahawks before kicking of the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals.  

The regular season is nearly upon us. And while the Raiders continue to show strides, they need to take advantage of opportunities and execute in the redzone.