On Saturday night, the Raiders lost a weird, weather-interrupted preseason game to the Minnesota Vikings 20-12. Despite scoring the first points of the game, the Raiders put together a mostly sloppy effort marred by penalties and mental errors. The team will have a lot to look at on tape and work on in practice this week in Alameda.
Preseason games are meaningless but not completely unimportant. As 90 players continue to compete for 53 active roster spots, and as the coaches and front office cut players and bring in new ones in order to find the best possible roster for the 2015 season, players have the opportunity to use preseason games to decide their future as Raiders and as NFL players.