The run defense, in particular, was porous at times, giving up 133 total yards a year after being one of the worst in that category.

Still, the offense was in position to win until a questionable fourth-and-1 call near midfield with two minutes left because of Bridgewater and McCaffrey.

Bridgewater completed 22 of 34 pass attempts for 270 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He also rushed four times for 26 yards.

Not spectacular like Newton when healthy, but more than adequate to win.

The only advantage Newton might have given Carolina was on the fourth-down call, when he was almost automatic gaining less than a yard.

McCaffrey was his usual stellar self once offensive coordinator Joe Brady went to him consistently starting late in the third quarter. He had 96 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 23 carries and three catches for 38 yards.

Everyone around Bridgewater and McCaffrey played well enough to win, too.

The defense just needs time to catch up.

Predictable: Carolina, with four rookies starting on defense, is just too young to win games against good offensive teams at this point. And the Raiders are only slightly better than a good offense.

Troubling trend: Joey Slye’s preseason was filled with inconsistency, one reason Kaare Vedvik was kept on the practice squad. Despite three first-half field goals, Slye missed an extra point, something that plagued him last season, when he missed four.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Not going to McCaffrey much early. McCaffrey had 10 touches with about five minutes left in the third quarter. He had 11 on the next drive and finished with 26. When McCaffrey got rolling, so did the offense. Rhule and Brady said McCaffrey would be the focal part of the offense, so why wasn’t he from the beginning?

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“As you grow older, everything kind of runs together and the only thing that changes is the verbiage,” he said. “Just have to learn to say the right things.”

By being added to the active roster, Carr has a chance to extend a significant streak. He has started all 192 games in his career, the longest active streak by a defensive player in the NFL. The Cowboys have planned to pair Xavier Woods with Darian Thompson at safety.

As for the start streak, Carr said, “I don’t think about the streak until you guys asked me about it. Personally, I’m just so consumed on trying to figure out a way to get a championship ring. I’ve been playing, this will be 13 years now, and I don’t have any hardware. The streak is fine, but I want to end this game with hardware.”