6 Things The Oakland Raiders Must Do Against Arizona Cardinals

The Raiders' defense finally seemed to wake up after sleeping through the first part of the season and they were relentless in their pursuit of Philip Rivers. Despite only coming up with one sack, they were in Rivers' face almost all day. They will need to duplicate that feat against the Cardinals. They need to keep him from getting comfortable and establishing a rhythm. Palmer isn't very mobile and the Raiders need to take advantage of that.

The Cardinals are a multifaceted team with a variety of weapons at their disposal. It won't be an easy task, but the Raiders need to clamp down on Arizona's array of weapons – Michael Floyd (16 rec. 306 yds.), Larry Fitzgerald (19 rec. 262 yds.) and Andre Ellington (81 carries 305 yds.) If they can contain the damage that trio can inflict, they will put themselves in a very good position.

Oakland's third down defensive efficiency continues to be a problem, and is one that needs to change very quickly. For the season, Oakland's opponents are converting their third down opportunities at a 51 percent clip (36 conversions in 70 attempts). They are letting opposing offenses extend drives and wear down the Raider defense. To be successful, Oakland must shut down third down opportunities and get the defense off the field.

Interim HC Tony Sparano's commitment to running the football paid great dividends against the Chargers. Darren McFadden (14 carries-80 yds.) had his best game in more than a year and Maurice Jones-Drew (4 carries-30 yds) was limited but effective. That efficiency running the ball opened up the passing game and made the offense as a whole far more dynamic. That's a trend that must continue against the Cardinals if they are to have any success.

They finally took the shackles off of Derek Carr last week. Rather than the dink and dunk offense he'd been limited to over the first four weeks, Carr aired it out against San Diego. He finished 18-34 for 282 yards and four TDs, numbers that could have been even better had his receivers not dropped some very catachable balls. Carr needs to have the freedom to keep airing it out to make this an explosive offense.

There's no getting around it, DC Jason Tarver played scared in that last series against San Diego. Rather than continuing to attack, he backed off and played not to lose rather than played to win. It was a decision that ultimately cost the Raiders the game as the conservative play calls allowed San Diego to move at will for the go ahead score. If the Raiders want to win, they will need to be aggressive and relentless from start to finish.