The Oakland Raiders made a lot of headlines last week after acquiring veteran quarterback Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals. Even though the Bengals were adamant about not trading Palmer, the Cincinnati franchise decided to make the move after the Raiders offered two potential first-round draft picks for the one-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

This move to acquire Carson Palmer was thought to be a game changer for the Oakland Raiders as it would give the team their first Pro Bowl caliber quarterback since Rich Gannon back in 2002. Despite the fact that the trade might have been just what this team needed after seeing starting quarterback Jason Campbell go down with a broken collarbone that could keep him out for the rest of the season, Carson Palmer was very rusty in his debut in silver and black in Week 7.

Head coach Hue Jackson made the decision before game time not to start Carson Palmer against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs as he felt that the veteran needed a few more weeks to get used to his new surroundings. Not only did Palmer need some time to shake the rust off considering that he hadn’t played once this season, but Jackson was confident that Kyle Boller could shoulder the load against the Chiefs.

Unfortunately, Boller really struggled in Week 7 as he threw three interceptions in the first half. This poor performance forced Jackson’s hand as he made the change to Carson Palmer in the second half, but it was just more the same from the veteran quarterback as he also threw three interceptions and failed to put any points on the board.

Ultimately, the Oakland Raiders lost a pivotal divisional game that would have put them in first place in the AFC West moving forward since the San Diego Chargers lost to the New York Jets.

Now the Oakland Raiders will head into a much-needed bye week in which Carson Palmer will have two weeks to get back to game shape and start to create some chemistry with his teammates in the Bay Area.

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