The Raiders certainly will go into the regular season with questions.
Will the defense be better? Will Marshawn Lynch be the player he was three years ago? Will the cornerback group be improved?
But one thing that seems certain after three exhibition games is Derek Carr will be as good or better than ever.
The Raiders starting quarterback was terrific in the first half of Saturday night’s 24-20 loss to the Cowboys in Texas, completing 13-of-17 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns without an interception while staking Oakland to a 13-10 lead.
In his most extensive playing time of the preseason, Carr was sharp, throwing TD passes to Amari Cooper and offseason addition Cordarrelle Patterson. The strike to Cooper was a 48-yarder that hit the wideout in stride down the sideline early in the second quarter. That followed an earlier 17-yard pass -- zipped between two Dallas defenders, noted the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur -- to Patterson.
Carr is now 20-of-26 for 244 yards and four TDs in the exhibition season for a passer rating of 128.9. He may make a token appearance in the final preseason tune-up this Thursday night against Seattle, but that’s all it would be. Carr is already sharp and ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 10 in Tennessee. There’s no reason to play him against the Seahawks.
E.J. Manuel took over for Carr but played sparingly, completing just 2-of-4 throws for 8 yards. Second-year man Connor Cook got the bulk of the snaps in the second half and was 9-of-16 for 89 yards, no TDs and no pickoffs.
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Cooper and Patterson also had big games. Cooper had four receptions for 78 yards. Patterson – who could be a huge boost for the offense as the No. 3 wideout behind Cooper and Michael Crabtree – had four catches for 30 yards.
With the loss, the Raiders fall to 0-3 this summer.
