Arizona Cardinals battle back to win 30-23 against the Oakland Raiders: By the Numbers
Aug 30, 2015, 8:59 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) evades Oakland Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong (57) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
A second half comeback from the Arizona Cardinals backups, highlighted by a game-winning drive, lifted the team to a 30-23 win over the Oakland Raiders.
While the first-team offense struggled mightily for the Cardinals, the defense did not. The Raiders couldn’t take advantage in the first half, scoring 15 points on five field goals.
Quarterback Carson Palmer had a rough first half, with two interceptions and the Raiders tremendous pass rusher Khalil Mack dominating the Cardinals offensive line. Palmer was consistently under pressure and wasn’t able to get in rhythm with his receivers.
His two interceptions put the Cardinals defense in bad positions, but they continued to step up and keep the game close. Great performances from the secondary, particularly a couple of big plays from safety Tyrann Mathieu repeatedly had the Raiders settle for three-and-outs and field goals.
A 15-3 score at halftime could have been much worse for the Cardinals and they took advantage. An interception from rookie cornerback Cariel Brooks was returned 81 yards for a touchdown that got the Cardinals right back into the game.
After that, a 12-play, 80-yard drive from backup quarterback Drew Stanton produced a touchdown and that was followed by another touchdown drive of 10 plays and 59 yards from quarterback Phillip Sims.
The Raiders tied the game up at 23, but an end of the game drive from quarterback Logan Thomas was the difference. The hero of the drive was tight end Ifeanyi Momah, who had two catches where he refused to go down. Those extra yards Momah got kept the Cardinals alive and put them in field goal position.
#AZCardinals TE Ifeanyi Momah be like, "get off me man!"#AZvsOAK | #SNF pic.twitter.com/iqiNUcxCx3
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 31, 2015
#AZCardinals TE Ifeanyi Momah did what?#AZvsOAK | #SNF pic.twitter.com/HDsLYcDE7P
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 31, 2015
A rushing touchdown from running back Marion Grice sealed up the win.
Here’s Sunday night’s game, by the numbers:
39
A 39-yard reception from John Brown was the signature play of the game for the Cardinals offense. The ball was a bit underthrown, possibly on purpose, which allowed Brown to slow down and rise up for the catch.
2.1
The Cardinals running game struggled to get going. Andre Ellington had 9 rushes for 19 yards, averaging only 2.1 yards per carry.
3
Mack only had three tackles in the game, but he was a humongous factor. He had two sacks and put Palmer under constant pressure, whether it was Jared Veldheer on the left or Bradley Sowell on the right, nobody could contain him.
11
The Cardinals had 11 tackles for loss, including three from Calais Campbell.
4
David Johnson had four rushes and four receptions. He had far more success in the pass game, averaging 10 yards per catch as opposed to -0.5 yards per carry.
61
Momah had three receptions for 61 yards.
