5 Biggest Things to Watch vs Raiders

The Arizona Cardinals play football today.

The team’s in Las Vegas to battle Fernando Mendoza and the Raiders for their second preseason game of 2026. Both teams are expected to play their starters.

Arizona held off on doing so last week, though faces such as Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride are set to see some action tonight while Jeremiyah Love will make his unofficial NFL debut.

Here’s everything you need to watch for as the Cardinals enter Allegiant Stadium, ranked in no particular order:

1. How Offense Looks With Jacoby Brissett

The team’s starters will only play a drive or two, according to head coach Mike LaFleur. That doesn’t give us much time for Arizona’s starting unit to showcase what they can do. As such, and with this being their first action of preseason, tonight will be about shaking the rust off more than anything.

It’s also fascinating that Jacoby Brissett is still playing catch-up to Arizona’s offense after ending his contract holdout. Tonight should be interesting to see both how Brissett looks and what the offense is capable of doing at this point in time, even if it’s vanilla plays and schematics.

2. Jeremiyah Love’s NFL Debut

We finally get to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Love didn’t play in last week’s Hall of Fame Game, but this week will be a different story. Even though his time will be limited, it’s still exciting to see Arizona’s No. 3 overall pick suited up and on the field.

There’s no crazy expectations here. Love will probably get a few carries along with a target or two in the passing attack. His night will end quicker than you imagine, probably.

Still, it will be fun to see Arizona’s top offseason investment take the field — and if he can provide a splash or two tonight, it will have the desert buzzing for the next week.

3. How Carson Beck Builds

Beck lit the country on fire last week with his performance in the preseason opener. It was just about everything fans could have asked for.

Circumstances are different entering today. Brissett and Minshew will eat into some playing time, though Beck will still be working with backups, against backups, with the aforementioned vanilla looks and play-calling.

What you want to see from Beck is simply building from last week and continuing to show he can command an offense. On-time throws, good decisions and keeping the Cardinals’ offense on schedule would be a successful stint for the rookie quarterback tonight.

4. Pay Attention to Who Plays Longer Than Most

NFL teams have a bad habit of revealing what players are probably in the dog house through preseason play. Such was the case last week where names such as BJ Ojulari and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson were playing in a game where starters didn’t suit up.

Now with the entire roster available tonight, it will be interesting to monitor not only who the Cardinals roll out with their starting unit, but also what players play deeper into the depths of the game.

If there’s any notable players with the second or third team (similar to Ojulari playing deep into last week’s game), that could be revealing of where they stand with the Cardinals and LaFleur’s staff.

5. Training Camp Standouts

It’s one thing for players to have strong training camps, it’s another to parlay that momentum into preseason action against live opponents.

Players in the likes of Darius Robinson, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Isaiah Adams were named winners of camp. That’s nice, but the Cardinals would love to see all three take the next step and look solid against live action in their debuts.

A strong performance in the preseason doesn’t guarantee anything for the regular season, though Arizona would love for their camp standouts to take the next step in live action where bullets are flying.