The Arizona Cardinals seek to avoid an 0-2 start as they travel to take on the Las Vegas Raiders on the road. The Raiders also want to avoid an 0-2 start.
Arizona was blown out 44-21 by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, allowing Patrick Mahomes to throw five touchdown passes and the Kansas City offense to roll up 488 total yards.
The Raiders lost 24-19 to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. Quarterback Derek Carr was sacked six times and intercepted three times.
With both teams hoping to bounce back, how will the game play out?
Raiders Wire managing editor Marcus Mosher and I give our expert picks for the game this weekend.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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Jess Root, Cards Wire
Cardinals 27, Raiders 24
This is tough for me. I don’t want to believe the Cardinals are as bad as they were last week. But the Raiders’ edge presence is impressive. I believe the Cardinals are a good team and will respond. But I think the Raiders are as well and home openers tend to give the home team some extra juice. The offense should get on track and exploit some of the weaknesses in the middle for the Raiders and perhaps their issues with depth. I say it is a close game, with the Cardinals eeking out a 27-24 win. It might come down to a field goal at the end of the game like it has in two of the last three meetings between the two teams.
Marcus Mosher, Raiders Wire
Raiders 26, Cardinals 24
I think this is going to be a very, very close game. The Raiders have a ton of weapons on offense and this feels like a game in which they can create chunk plays in the passing game. But I think the Cardinals will be able to put points up on the board, as well. This feels like a game that could come down to special teams and the Raiders do have an advantage there. I am taking the Raiders to win on a Daniel Carlson field goal, 26-24.
