Marshawn Lynch is going to be on the sidelines for this game just so he won’t get fined. The comebacking Lynch isn’t expected to get any carries against Arizona.
Look for DeAndre Washington to lead the cast of Oakland running backs for this game. With Lynch virtually locking up the starting role, all the Raiders want to see at this point is if Washington or any other running back is capable of handling increased or significant roles. Washington enters the new season on the strength of a solid rookie year that saw him rush for 467 yards and two touchdowns across 14 games. Rookie Elijah Hood, who was selected by Oakland in the seventh round of the recent draft is also another player to watch out for, as he’s got the potential to climb up the depth chart once the season begins.
Derek Carr’s injury last season threw a wrench to the Raiders’ Super Bowl hopes but for now, their preseason hopes aspirations will mostly be pinned on his backups in Connor Cook and EJ Manuel. Manuel has the advantage in experience and is the ideal choice to serve as main backup to Carr but Cook has the chance to reverse the narrative this preseason.
Betting on the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona dropped its first preseason game last week, losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-18. On the bright side, the Cardinals saw a solid performance from Blaine Gabbert, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 185 yards. Trevor Knight, on the other hand, went 5-of-14 for 68 yards.
Both quarterbacks didn’t score a touchdown, as it was the running backs who supplied that to the team with Kerwyn Williams and Andre Ellington scoring one apiece. Rookie T.J. Logan led the team with 24 yards on four carries. The entire team only had 88 rushing yards in total for the game.
Unless David Johnson shows up though, the Cardinals will continue chucking the ball instead of pounding it on the backfield. Fifteen Cardinals got at least one pass thrown their way in the Dallas game.
Tight end Ifeanyi Momah did his best to impress the Cardinals by catching all three targets and converting those to 48 yards. Chad Williams, who was drafted in the third round, will get another stab at showing what he’s capable of after a so-so performance against the Cowboys in which he caught two passes for 15 yards.
