The Oakland Raiders buried a football last week to symbolize a past that should be forgotten. Their new start almost went according to plan. While Derek Carr’s four touchdowns weren’t enough to earn Oakland’s first win of 2014 last week, he could have shown the signs of life needed to get there in Week 7.
That optimism with new interim head coach Tony Sparano is enough to excite Raiders fans, who get a major deal this week on the secondary market. Raiders vs Arizona Cardinals tickets have an average price of just $74.82 on the secondary market. That’s 39% below the season average for Raiders tickets at O.co Coliseum this year. The get-in price for the game is only $15.
The Cards are far from a cakewalk, as they come in with a strong 4-1 record and got quarterback Carson Palmer back last week (shoulder). He’ll return to face a Raiders team that traded him to Arizona a year ago, which could add a little bit of spice to this matchup. In fact, the quarterback duel may be what this one comes down to, as Arizona’s pass defense has been absolutely atrocious. That could leave room for Carr to continue his progress and potentially shred a vulnerable Cardinals defense en route to Oakland’s first win of the year.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. While the Raiders are fairly stingy against the pass on the other side, their run defense leaves a lot to be desired. If they can’t contain elusive running back Andre Ellington, they could be in some serious trouble.
The Cardinals also boast a suffocating run defense, which could present real problems if Darren McFadden and Oakland’s rushing attack can’t get off the ground. If that happens, unwanted pressure could be placed on Oakland’s rookie quarterback and their plus matchup could be a non factor.
To keep that from happening, Oakland will have to get creative and find ways to maximize any running lanes that pop open. If they can do that, that should give Carr enough time to take the same type of deep shots he took a week ago. That’s Oakland’s perfect gameplan to win, and if they can execute it for the second week in a row, they could get the upset.
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