Arizona Cardinals lose preseason opener to the Oakland Raiders
There weren’t a lot of positives to take from the Arizona Cardinals 31-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Friday night.  The biggest positive though is the Cardinals came away with no major injuries.
No injuries in a preseason game is always a plus. Â The Raiders defensive end Mario Edwards was carted off to the locker room in the first half with a leg injury.
A look back at the Cardinals loss will show there is a lot of improvement to be shown on both sides of the ball. Â Every string from first to fourth have things they can take away from the game and learn from. Â Here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly on Friday night.
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The good: The Cardinals running game
The Cardinals running game looked healthy and alive on all fronts on Friday night. Â Starting running back David Johnson carried three times for 31 yards. Â Andre Ellington carried three times for 41 yards. Â Kerwynn Williams carried the ball six times for 39 yards.
As a team, the Cardinals rushed for 172 yards on 35 carries, a 4.9 yard-per-carry average. All six running backs got carries on Friday night.
The bad: Cardinals special teams
The Cardinals were pretty miserable in most fronts when it came to special teams on Friday night. J.J. Nelson fumbled a punt return to give the ball over to the Raiders deep in Cardinals territory. The turnover cost the Cardinals seven points.
The kick coverage team did not fare much better. Â They gave up two kick returns for 74 yards, a 37-yard average.
Kicker Chandler Catanzaro went 1-2 in field goal attempts on Friday night. Â He missed a 41-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The ugly: Cardinals quarterback play
For his part, starting quarterback Carson Palmer did alright.  Palmer’s first pass though shouold have been picked off.  It wasn’t and Palmer went 3-4 the rest of the drive, which resulted in a field goal.  He went 3-5 for 38 yards.
For Drew Stanton and Matt Barkley though, it was a forgettable evening. Â Stanton went 2-6 for 42-yards with one interception. Â He almost had a second ball picked off. Â He was not sharp at all.
Barkley played the most out of all the quarterbacks. Â He completed just 8-24 passes. Â He also threw an interception. Â Jake Coker went 2-5 for 16 yards. Â Overall a night to learn from for the backups.
If Stanton wishes to become the future starting quarterback for the Cardinals, this was not the way to show it. Â Granted, this was the first game, a preseason one at that, however this was the first game Stanton played in since proclaiming he re-signed with the Cardinals after being promised a shot after Palmer retires.
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