Remember when this used to be a battle between two of the league's best franchises? The Raiders with their Commitment to Excellence against the Cowboys, dubbed America's Team by NFL Films.
These days, the Raiders have been one of the league's worst teams since a Super Bowl appearance in 2002, while the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996.
That said, this game between storied NFL franchises is a much bigger contest for Dallas than Oakland.
A win and the Cowboys will be 8-3 and alone in first place in the NFC East entering December, which has been a month of horrors for them. More important, they will be positioned to make the playoffs and end their wretched 12-year streak without a postseason win after missing the playoffs in 2008.
The Raiders are already playing for pride this season, though quarterback Bruce Gradkowski makes them a much more difficult opponent. He led Oakland to a win last week in his first game as a starter, replacing ineffective JaMarcus Russell, the former No.1 pick overall.
The Cowboys have their own issues on offense, scoring only two touchdowns in the past two weeks. The Raiders won't score many points — no matter who's playing quarterback — but their defense is playing pretty well these days. Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is still searching for his team's identity. This would be a good week to find it.
Raiders Keys For Success
1. Stop the run. The Raiders rank 30th in the NFL against the run, yielding 157.7 yards per game. The Cowboys are the second-most efficient team running the ball at 5 yards a pop. The Raiders must free up at least one defender — most likely strong safety Tyvon Branch — to help against the run so the Cowboys don't dictate the tempo of the game from the outset.
2. Throw more to the wide receivers. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell lost his starting job because of his inability to get the ball to his wide receivers on a consistent basis. Replacement Bruce Gradkowski did a nice job last week against the Bengals, and he must continue that success against a pair of cornerbacks — Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman — adept in tight man-to-man coverage. 3. Staying calm under the spotlight. This Raiders team isn't accustomed to playing on national TV with so much attention focused upon them. They must ignore the fact they are playing in a new stadium, on Thanksgiving Day and on national TV and just stick to their routine, as if they are playing a home game.
Cowboys Keys For Success
1. Crank up the offense. Just a few weeks ago, the Cowboys were using a plethora of big plays from a variety of players to score points at a rapid. Now, they can hardly score at all. The Cowboys have entered the fourth quarter of each of the last two games with zero points and are fortunate to be 1-1 in those games. In the past two games, Dallas has just two touchdowns in 22 possessions with 12 punts. Part of the reason is they're not getting big plays. They had just four two plays of 20-plus yards against Washington and Green Bay the last two weeks. The Cowboys rank among the league leaders in offensive penalties and struggle to consistently drive the length of the field.
2. Help Tony Romo be more accurate. There are a few times in every game when the quarterback gets the right play against the right coverage. When it happens, the quarterback must connect. Romo hasn't been doing that. He is completing only 60 percent of his passes, and his percentage has dropped each of the past four seasons. Of quarterbacks who have thrown at least 300 passes, only Atlanta's Matt Ryan (59.3) and Detroit's Matthew Stafford (55.2) have a lower completion percentage. Romo's 61 poor throws ranks second in the NFL. The Cowboys need him to be more accurate and hit receivers in stride, especially since their offense is struggling. 3. Win on third down. The Raiders are going to have a tough time winning Thursday if they convert just 27.9 percent of their third downs against the Cowboys. The Raiders rank 30th in the NFL in third-down conversions. Again, that's an area where they should improve with Gradkowski at quarterback instead of Russell. The Cowboys' defense has played well on third down much of this season but struggled against Washington last week in a 7-6 victory, allowing the Redskins to convert 7-of-15 third downs.
The Bottom Line
The Raiders are at a significant disadvantage, having to travel from the west coast to Dallas on a short week. Add to that an abject offense and it's hard to see how the Raiders win this game, considering Dallas' defense is playing at a high level.
Scoring prediction: Raiders 9 - Cowboys 20
These days, the Raiders have been one of the league's worst teams since a Super Bowl appearance in 2002, while the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996.
That said, this game between storied NFL franchises is a much bigger contest for Dallas than Oakland.
A win and the Cowboys will be 8-3 and alone in first place in the NFC East entering December, which has been a month of horrors for them. More important, they will be positioned to make the playoffs and end their wretched 12-year streak without a postseason win after missing the playoffs in 2008.
The Raiders are already playing for pride this season, though quarterback Bruce Gradkowski makes them a much more difficult opponent. He led Oakland to a win last week in his first game as a starter, replacing ineffective JaMarcus Russell, the former No.1 pick overall.
The Cowboys have their own issues on offense, scoring only two touchdowns in the past two weeks. The Raiders won't score many points — no matter who's playing quarterback — but their defense is playing pretty well these days. Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is still searching for his team's identity. This would be a good week to find it.
Raiders Keys For Success
1. Stop the run. The Raiders rank 30th in the NFL against the run, yielding 157.7 yards per game. The Cowboys are the second-most efficient team running the ball at 5 yards a pop. The Raiders must free up at least one defender — most likely strong safety Tyvon Branch — to help against the run so the Cowboys don't dictate the tempo of the game from the outset.
2. Throw more to the wide receivers. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell lost his starting job because of his inability to get the ball to his wide receivers on a consistent basis. Replacement Bruce Gradkowski did a nice job last week against the Bengals, and he must continue that success against a pair of cornerbacks — Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman — adept in tight man-to-man coverage. 3. Staying calm under the spotlight. This Raiders team isn't accustomed to playing on national TV with so much attention focused upon them. They must ignore the fact they are playing in a new stadium, on Thanksgiving Day and on national TV and just stick to their routine, as if they are playing a home game.
Cowboys Keys For Success
1. Crank up the offense. Just a few weeks ago, the Cowboys were using a plethora of big plays from a variety of players to score points at a rapid. Now, they can hardly score at all. The Cowboys have entered the fourth quarter of each of the last two games with zero points and are fortunate to be 1-1 in those games. In the past two games, Dallas has just two touchdowns in 22 possessions with 12 punts. Part of the reason is they're not getting big plays. They had just four two plays of 20-plus yards against Washington and Green Bay the last two weeks. The Cowboys rank among the league leaders in offensive penalties and struggle to consistently drive the length of the field.
2. Help Tony Romo be more accurate. There are a few times in every game when the quarterback gets the right play against the right coverage. When it happens, the quarterback must connect. Romo hasn't been doing that. He is completing only 60 percent of his passes, and his percentage has dropped each of the past four seasons. Of quarterbacks who have thrown at least 300 passes, only Atlanta's Matt Ryan (59.3) and Detroit's Matthew Stafford (55.2) have a lower completion percentage. Romo's 61 poor throws ranks second in the NFL. The Cowboys need him to be more accurate and hit receivers in stride, especially since their offense is struggling. 3. Win on third down. The Raiders are going to have a tough time winning Thursday if they convert just 27.9 percent of their third downs against the Cowboys. The Raiders rank 30th in the NFL in third-down conversions. Again, that's an area where they should improve with Gradkowski at quarterback instead of Russell. The Cowboys' defense has played well on third down much of this season but struggled against Washington last week in a 7-6 victory, allowing the Redskins to convert 7-of-15 third downs.
The Bottom Line
The Raiders are at a significant disadvantage, having to travel from the west coast to Dallas on a short week. Add to that an abject offense and it's hard to see how the Raiders win this game, considering Dallas' defense is playing at a high level.
Scoring prediction: Raiders 9 - Cowboys 20
