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Cardinals Hold Off Raiders 31-27

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RB Darren McFadden gained 51 yards on 10 touches at Arizona.Photo by Tony Gonzales.

The Raiders won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. WR Jacoby Ford returned K Jay Feely's opening kickoff 20 yards to the Oakland 14. Carson Palmer started at quarterback and the Raiders offense went three-and-out. CB Patrick Peterson returned rookie P Marquette King's 71-yard punt 46 yards to the Raiders 41.

QB Kevin Kolb directed a 7-play, 41-yard drive that culminated in a 3-yard RB Ryan Williams touchdown run. Feely's extra point was true and the home team took a 7-0 lead with 10:56 left in the first quarter.

Ford returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards to the Raiders 18. Palmer engineered a scoring drive, which was assisted by a roughing the passer penalty and a pass interference call in the end zone. K Sebastian Janikowski capped the 11-play, 81-yard drive with an 18-yard field goal to cut the Cardinals lead to 7-3 with 5:36 left in the first quarter. 

After an 18-yard kickoff return and a holding penalty, Arizona took possession at the 7. After an intentional grounding call, DT Tommy Kelly sacked Kolb in the end zone for a safety and two points to cut the Cardinals lead to 7-5.

Ford returned the free kick to the Oakland 39. Janikowski capped an 8-play, 38-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal to give the Raiders an 8-7 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.

The ensuing kickoff was fielded in the end zone and downed for a touchback and the Cardinals took over at the Arizona 20-yard line. The Raiders forced a three-and-out thanks to a sack on 3rd and 8. P Dave Zastudil's punt was downed at the Oakland 42.

The Raiders next possession ended when Palmer was intercepted by S Kerry Rhodes, who returned the interception 66 yards to the Raiders 5. The Raiders defense terrorized Kolb and forced the Cardinals into a 32-yard field goal which gave Arizona a 10-8 lead with 12:39 left in the 2nd quarter.

RB Lonyae Miller returned the ensuing kickoff to the Raiders 22. RB Mike Goodson fumbled the ball back to Arizona who took over at the Oakland 23. John Skelton entered the game at quarterback and capped a short drive with a 3-yard TD pass to FB Anthony Sherman. The extra point was good and the Cardinals led 17-8 with 9:55 left in the 2nd quarter.

The Raiders went three and out and King's punt was blocked and returned 19 yards for a touchdown by S Justin Bethel. The extra point was good and the Cardinals took a 24-8 lead with 8:20 left in the 2nd quarter.

CB Bryan McCann's kickoff return was wiped out by a holding penalty and the Raiders took over at the 7. Janikowski capped a 14-play, 59-yard drive (officially, a change of possession during a fumble reset field position) with a 21-yard field goal and cut the Cardinals lead to 24-11 with nine seconds left in the second quarter.

RB William Powell returned K Eddy Carmona's opening kickoff of the second half 53 yards to the Arizona 45. Ryan Lindley entered the game at quarterback. He promptly threw an interception to CB Chimdi Chekwa and the Raiders took over at the Oakland 34. Matt Leinart took over at quarterback.

The Raiders picked up one first down before the Cardinals forced a punt. A penalty on Arizona during the punt gave the Raiders a first down. Miller capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run. Carmona's PAT was blocked and the Raiders trailed 24-17 with 10:16 left in the 3rd quarter.

Powell returned Carmona's ensuing kickoff to the Arizona 23. The Cardinals drive stalled and WR DeAundre Muhammad returned Zastudil's punt to the Oakland 14. During the drive, Arizona was called for roughing the passer and Leinart had to leave the game. Terelle Pryor took over at quarterback. The Raiders were forced to punt and Cardinals took over at their 16.

A few plays later, LB Carl Ihenacho stripped the ball from Lindley and DE Hall Davis scooped and scored. Carmona's extra point was good and the game was tied at 24-24 with 39 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Powell returned the ensuing kickoff to the Arizona 27. Powell gave the Cardinals a 31-24 lead with 11:25 to go on a 9-yard TD run.

The Raiders went three and out and after the punt and a fair catch, Arizona took over at their own 23 with 8:59 to play. After a Cardinals fumble, Carmona drilled a 53-yard field goal to cut Arizona's lead to 31-27 with 5:36 left in the game.

The Cardinals managed to keep possession and run out the clock to secure the victory. The Raiders return home to face the Detroit Lions at O.co Coliseum next Saturday.

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