Raiders vs Cardinals final score: 24-13 loss drops Raiders to worst start in 52 years

It was another gritty game by the Raiders resulting in another loss. The Raiders lose to the Cardinals in Oakland by the score of 24-13 to fall to 0-6. It's their worst start in 52 years. The only other time they started 0-6 was 1962, the year before Al Davis joined the team.

The offense fell back to earth a bit in this one, with just one touchdown and none were Derek Carr passes.

Carr was going for a statement right out the gates, wasting no time going after All Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. He threw for James Jones on the first play of the game, but Peterson had perfect coverage to beat Jones to the spot and it fell incomplete. A short run and an incompletion later, the Raiders would punt.

The Cardinals started with great field position and moved into Raiders territory. But after a tackle for a loss on an end around , the Cardinals came up short on third down. They went for it on 4th and three from the 45-yard line and T.J. Carrie knocked down the Carson Palmer pass attempt for a turnover on downs.

The next Cardinals drive, the Raiders defensive woes reared their ugly head. A missed tackle turned a pass in the flat into a big gainer for 37 yards to the Oakland 37. The Cardinals finished off the drive with a short pass for the touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Raiders got their first 1^st down of the game on a Cardinals holding penalty with :19 seconds left in the first quarter. On the next play, Tony Sparano reached into his past and pulled out the wildcat with Darren McFadden taking the snap, keeping it and gaining the left edge for a 12-yard first down to end the first quarter.

The drive continued into Cardinals territory after a pass interference penalty and a short run. But an Andre Holmes drop and a short scramble by Derek Carr later and the Raiders were punting once again.

What the Raiders gained with that drive was the field position battle as the punt was fair caught at the 14-yard line to start the Cardinals drive. The Cardinals were unable to mount a drive and were forced to punt.

Things heated up as the first half came to a close. Derek Carr led the Raiders on a late drive which was highlighted by a 55-yard hookup to Brice Butler along the left sideline. It set the Raiders up in first and goal at the three yard line and three plays later, Darren McFadden punched it in for a one-yard touchdown. It was the first 1st down inside Cardinals' territory for the Raiders and they didn't waste it to pull to within a score, down 14-7.

With 1:56 left in the second quarter, the Cardinals attempted to mount a drive before halftime. On the second play, the ball was tipped and Charles Woodson picked it off and returned it to the Cardinals 13-yard line. The Raiders would eventually settle for a field goal from Sebastian Janikowski to pull to down 14-10 and that was the score heading into the locker room.

The field goal by Janikowski makes just the second game he has converted a field goal this season. He made three in week three against the Patriots and missed one from 54 yards out last week.

Possibly helping matters for Janikowski was Raiders' decision to switch from Marquette King to Matt Schaub on holds.

Janikowski added to his day when he converted a 53-yard attempt on the Raiders first drive of the second half. The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half but it was the Raiders who struck first. The drive began with a nice run by Darren McFadden through a huge hole in the line. A couple completions to James Jones and Denarius Moore put them in scoring position and pull them to down just one, 14-13.

That one-point of separation didn't last long with the Cardinals taking it right down the field to score another touchdown. This time the Cardinals did most of their damage on the ground. They got into Raiders territory on a pass interference penalty by Miles Burris. Then following a 16-yard screen pass to Andre Ellington, they ran the ball five times for 32 yards and a touchdown to extend the lead again to 21-13. Too easy.

It was a defensive game for a while after that, with each team exchanging punts. It remained that way until the waning minutes when the Cardinals began moving the ball and eating clock. They took the ball deep into Raiders territory, running the clock down to :33 seconds and put a cap on it with a field goal to go up two scores.

Box Score

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