Oakland Raiders: 5 things that must improve against the Arizona Cardinals

5. Backup Quarterback Play

Both Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman are locked in a tight battle to be Derek Carr’s understudy. Both had some good moments — and some less than good moments — against the Rams. It’s fair to say both backups had mixed results in their first outing of the preseason.

There were times they looked like they had command of Jon Gruden’s system and were ripping off big chunks of yardage. And there were other times both looked a little overwhelmed — such as on both of Glennon’s terrible interception tosses.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

But given how important having a competent understudy is to a franchise, it’s imperative that both Glennon and Peterman step it up.

If the worst-case scenario should come to pass and something happens to Carr, it’s paramount that either Glennon or Peterman be able to take the reins and prove they can run this offense. In an ideal world, the dropoff from Carr to his understudy would be minimal.

Time and time again around the league, we’ve seen backup quarterbacks have to take over and in some cases — think Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles — they’ve flourished.

That’s what the Raiders need to have in their arsenal — a competent backup who can lead the offense and have the dropoff from QB1 to QB2 be minimal.

There were moments against the Rams where you thought — maybe. Both commanded Gruden’s offense well. And there were other moments that made you think that competent backup who can lead the offense isn’t currently on the roster.

But with three more preseason games to go and with both Glennon and Peterman likely to see a lot of action, there is still time for one or the other to stake their claim to the position and fill the coaching staff — not to mention the fanbase — with confidence in their ability.

But they’re both going to need to start stepping up their play even more against Arizona.