Running Back Latavius Murray and Quarterback Derek Carr
The Oakland Raiders starters didn't get too much run in their first preseason game, but that wasn't the case Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers.
After a collectively brief preseason debut last week in Arizona, quarterback Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders starters saw a significant increase in workload Thursday night at Lambeau Field, as both the team's starting offensive and defensive units played the entire first half.
For the starters, it was a mixed bag of results; Carr finished the night 9 of 13 for 38 yards, and while he didn't find the end zone in his half of work, he and wide receiver Amari Cooper were able to connect on a pair of passes, including an impressive 20-yard strike.
Defensively, the starting unit surrendered a 14-play, 74-yard drive to the Packers to start the evening, but after that initial offensive surge, Green Bay was unable to put any more points on the board in the first half.
While Thursday's effort from the starting units was far from perfect, there are still some positives to take away from the game, most notably, that excluding the first drive of the game, the Raiders starters allowed just 68 yards to the Packers.
As the first half wore on, Ken Norton, Jr.'s defense really settled in, producing a pair of three and outs before retiring for the evening. Granted, starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't play Thursday night for the Packers, but regardless, there were periods of the game where the defense was incredibly stout.
Throughout the first half, the Raiders defense flashed glimpses of the dominance that they'll be expected to produce in the regular season, and with their effort, at the half, it was just 7-3 in favor of the Packers.
However, the second half was a different story, as the Packers were able to get their offense rolling a little bit, and were able to put up 13 points on the Silver and Black's defense, en route to a 20-12 win at Lambeau Field.
While Thursday's contest ended in defeat, rookie quarterback Connor Cook had a nice night, finishing the game 6 of 9 for 101 yards.
The Raiders fly back to Northern California tonight, and will be back on the practice field Saturday afternoon at their Alameda, Calif., facility.
Their next preseason game will be next Saturday when they take on the Tennessee Titans at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
