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Raiders Face Intriguing First Test in Preseason Opener

The Las Vegas Raiders play their first preseason game in a couple of days. What must they keep in mind?
Fernando Alfaro-Donis|
Klint Kubiak
Klint Kubiak | Darrell CraigHarris, On SI

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Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders will be kicking off their preseason in just a couple of days, and their first opponent is the Arizona Cardinals. The NFL world already saw a glimpse of the Cardinals in the preseason as they took on the Carolina Panthers in the annual Hall of Fame game.

Personally, that was the most entertaining Hall of Fame game I've ever seen in my life. If that's a sign for the 2026 NFL season to come, I'm even more excited thinking about all of the dynamic offenses across the league. Especially for the Raiders, what is there to look forward to in their first preseason game against the Cardinals?

Starters Expected

Klint Kubiak has confirmed that the starters will be playing in Thursday's contest. Usually, with starters in the preseason, they'll only go in for a drive or two. Surprisingly enough, I think Raider Nation will want to see the backups more than the starters.

That's because Fernando Mendoza isn't going to be their starting quarterback, and his debut in the Silver and Black is much more exciting than Kirk Cousins'. It will be interesting to see what Kubiak prefers more with the starters: running the ball or passing it.

Defensive Test

The biggest storyline from the Hall of Fame game was how comfortable rookie quarterback Carson Beck looked in their offense. He made a case for himself to be the Cardinals' starter in the regular season.

I think that against Rob Leonard's defensive schemes, Beck's decision-making and throw selection will be put to the test. The Raiders' defense has an opportunity to cut all the Beck hype prematurely by causing a turnover or making him look less comfortable in the pocket than he did in his preseason debut.

A way they can do that is by using their young secondary to give Beck different looks than the Panthers' defense. It's important to remember that because this is a preseason game, I don't expect Leonard to be pulling out all of the creative defensive stops and schemes.

However, there's fierce competition right now to be the secondary option in their secondary, and I think it's only fair to give those players a chance to ball out against fellow players looking to make their names known. This is the first in-game look Raiders fans will get at this new roster and new regime. Times are changing in Las Vegas.

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Fernando Alfaro-Donis
FERNANDO ALFARO-DONIS

Fernando Alfaro-Donis found his passion for sports playing high school football, which led him to pursue journalism as an English major at UCLA. He also covers the UCLA Bruins and the Los Angeles Rams as an On SI team reporter.