Predicting the Final Score of Cardinals vs. Raiders
By Connor Fulton
@ConnorFultonRS
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
In one of the more lopsided matchups of Week 7, the Arizona Cardinals pay a visit to the winless Oakland Raiders. The Cardinals enter the game leading the fiercely competitive NFC West, while the Raiders are currently residing in the cellar of the AFC West.
With talks of an extension for Carson Palmer swirling around the Cardinals’ facility this week, you can bet that the 34-year-old signal caller will be looking to prove himself on Sunday, especially against his former team. No Arizona receiver has separated himself as the main contributor in the aerial attack, but future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald and young gun Andre Ellington are easily the most dangerous players in the Arizona offense.
However, nothing will come easy against a Raiders secondary that has surrendered the fourth-fewest passing yards in the entire NFL. Charles Woodson, despite his retirement home status among his peers, is still playing at an extremely high level and is primed to make an impact in this game.
More and more, Derek Carr is looking like the future of the Raiders. He surpassed the century mark for quarterback rating last week against the San Diego Chargers, torching the divisional rival for 282 yards and four touchdowns. He’ll have to be weary of Cardinals cornerback Jerraud Powers, who is tied for the league lead with three interceptions despite the fact the Cardinals have played only five games.
It’s worth noting that the Raiders may be without a victory thus far, but three of their five losses have been one-possession outcomes. Look for the Raiders to give the Cardinals all they can handle in this game. In fact, it will be some late-game heroics out of a rookie quarterback that will tilt the result in Oakland’s favor, giving the team their first win in the 2014 season.
Final score: Raiders 30, Cardinals 28
Connor Fulton is an NFL writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google.
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