12 Winners And Losers From Cardinals Preseason Win vs Raiders

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals emerged out of Allegiant Stadium with a 27-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, one that yielded a wide range of emotions from start to finish.

The starting offense, appearing for the first time in preseason, looked great under head coach Mike LaFleur while the other side of the ball... perhaps not so much.

That, along with eye-opening injuries, headline our list of winners and losers from Sin City, ranked in no particular order:

Winner: Cardinals QB Room

Practically every quarterback who has suited up for Arizona this preseason has found a massive amount of success under center. We knew this from Carson Beck and Kedon Slovis' debut last week, though it was Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett's turn at the wheel.

Brissett went 5/5 passing for 44 yards and a touchdown before he was yanked early. Minshew completed 14 of 16 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Slovis finished the game going 7/9 for 75 yards.

All finished with passer ratings of 101 or higher as Beck sat out due to a ribs injury – you can read more about that here.

LaFleur's offense so obviously sets quarterbacks up for success. But it's good to see different passers succeed across multiple games now.

Loser: Nick Rallis' Starting Defense

It's awfully hard to call a coach a loser in preseason, though fans are well aware of how short of a leash Rallis has entering 2026.

Thus far, the results haven't been there for Rallis. For the first time, the Cardinals rolled their starting unit out on the field. The end product? Two touchdowns in Vegas' first three drives.

Many of the same problems Arizona saw last week — missed tackles, blown assignments — were prevalent against the Raiders. You won't find many defensive standouts on this list as winners.

Is that Rallis' fault? Maybe, maybe not. But for a defensive coordinator who so obviously needs to get his unit playing better ball, Rallis has somehow seen his side of the ball underperform in back to back weeks.

Winner: Marvin Harrison Jr.

After a loud training camp where drops and mistakes were amplified, Harrison took the field for the first time and didn't see a plethora of run time — though he did make two impact plays.

The first came on a pass interference penalty drawn on third down to extend Arizona's drive early in the first quarter, which noticeably came from the slot. The second came from his touchdown reception in double coverage.

Jacoby → Marv 🔁🔁🔁

📲 on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/0DB4EXhc4g
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 14, 2026

In his first taste of preseason action, Harrison produced when called upon and silenced some of the noise that social media pumped just weeks ago. He's clearly a talented receiver, and he reminded so many of that last night.

Loser: Christian Jones

Jones is fighting for a roster spot at this point and was included in our post-training camp winners and losers article after dropping down to third-team work. Arizona's tackle depth is strong with Josh Fryar and Jayden Williams now in the picture, so Jones really needed to impress.

That wasn't the case, as Jones was responsible for one of two Cardinals sacks allowed last night.

If Jones wants to make the roster, that simply can't happen — not in the limited run he's already getting with others ahead of him.

Winner: Denzel Burke

We almost didn't include Burke here thanks to a missed tackle on Mike Washington's 50-yard run, though Burke did manage to land this hit-stick on Washington — and it's always fun to see cornerbacks bring the boom.

#RiseUpReSea Denzel Burke hit #AzCardinals pic.twitter.com/5FqtGy26Pc
— Az sports fan (@SportsFanInAz) August 14, 2026

Burke also had two passes defensed on the night, which was a game-high for either team.

Loser: Cardinals Interior OL Depth

Chase Bisontis exited with a knee injury in the third quarter, and the early indications don't spell good news for the second-round pick. The Cardinals could possibly lose him for the season.

Bisontis, while still behind Isaiah Adams in the starting right guard battle, would have provided at minimum a high potential backup to Adams or starting left guard Isaac Seumalo. If Adams' recent history says anything, we likely would have seen the rookie inserted into the lineup at some point.

Now, Arizona is down their No. 34 overall selection and a key piece of their OL depth. This injury may also impact Bisontis' development down the road, too.

Just not a good night in any shape or form in that department.

Winner: Young Cardinals WR's

Everywhere you turn, Cardinals receivers are making plays.

Jalen Brooks is getting harder and harder to ignore, compounding a 99-yard performance last week with a 6/52/1 stat line last night. Reggie Virgil made a sick one-handed snag and averaged 21.5 yards per catch while Simi Fehoko again found the end zone for Arizona.

This week when speaking with reporters, Cardinals WR Kendrick Bourne said with so much talent in the room, the goal is to make Arizona's life difficult when deciding who to keep at their position.

That came to fruition, as you can make arguments for practically any of the Cardinals' depth guys to make the final 53-man roster.

Loser: BJ Ojulari

Ojulari again found himself playing deep into the fourth quarter of a preseason game, which doesn't exactly spell good news for the former second-round pick — especially after he rotated in on the first drive of the game.

Ojulari did register one QB hit, though he was lost in pass coverage (granted, it was a zone drop and the ball went to a receiver) — but the mixed bag of extended playing time with one tackle and no sacks still isn't moving the needle for his roster chances.

Winner: Jeremiyah Love

Minor ankle injury aside, Love had close to a perfect night.

The first taste of Love on a football field had everybody thirsting for more. Whether it be his ability to make defenders miss in the open field or his impact in the passing game, Love is a walking highlight reel that can produce magic on practically any touch.

Jeremiyah Love making a couple of guys miss 👀

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0zWxy27wgW
— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026

Arriving as the No. 3 overall pick, Love was met with hefty expectations from the fan base — but so far, so good after he clearly established himself as a verified weapon.

Loser: Darius Robinson

As somebody who has been vocal on how great Darius Robinson has looked during training camp, last night hurt.

Robinson was virtually nonexistent in the Cardinals' opening run with the starting defense, nor was he able to register anything in the box score with the backups before departing.

His biggest moment came when he was cleared out on Washington's 50-yard scamper.

Guess where Darius Robinson is in this photo on the 56-yard gain by Mike Washington Jr. pic.twitter.com/ghqwV2wXLq
— Blake Allen Murphy (@blakemurphy7) August 14, 2026

Robinson has historically dominated training camp before fading into the abyss of the regular season. Last night was his first opportunity to flip that narrative, and he did himself absolutely no favors in that regard.

Winner: Karson Sharar

Sharar, a sixth-round rookie, has the odds stacked against him to make the roster at inside linebacker. If there's one way for him to crack the final 53, it would be via special teams — where he excelled at Iowa.

That was very much on display last night, as he brought the boom on a kickoff return tackle.

Sharar blows up raiders kick returner pic.twitter.com/vJJe8SWrbW
— Bay Area Super fans (@Baysuperfans) August 14, 2026

As a late-round pick, in a loaded position group, you need to find ways to stick out and make plays. That tackle, on top of leading the Cardinals on the night with five tackles (all solo) and one TFL, made him a rare winner from the defensive side of the ball.

Loser: Cardinals Pre-Snap Penalties

The Cardinals keep shooting themselves in the foot on the offensive line, particularly pre-snap, where false starts have plagued each level of the line through training camp and their first preseason game.

So you can imagine the frustration LaFleur must have felt seeing not one, not two... but three false start penalties on his side of the ball. Two came on the opening drive.

Arizona needs to control the controllables, and for as good as their playmakers have been, they can't afford simple mental lapses that cost them before the ball is even snapped.

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