Cowboys, Raiders seek lost momentum in T-day meeting
ARLINGTON, TEXAS >> The Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders have one victory between them in November and one more chance do something about it before the playoff push time also known as December.
Just so happens they’re playing each other on Thanksgiving.
So forget about Dallas receiver Amari Cooper playing his former team for the first time Thursday — a positive COVID-19 test and his vaccination status took care of that. And interim coach Rich Bisaccia probably won’t spend much time thinking about his return to the place he left to join the Raiders three years ago.
The NFC East-leading Cowboys (7-3) want to bounce back at home coming off a poor offensive showing, just as they did a week and a half ago against Atlanta. The Raiders (5-5) need to end a three-game losing streak that cost them first place in the AFC West.
“I don’t know the right wording for it, but there’s definitely a feeling of, ‘Enough is enough. We’ve got to win,’” Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr said. “It’s a big game because it’s the next game. But what an opportunity for us to get back on track on the road in a hostile environment against a really good football team.”
Dallas fell behind by 30 against double-digit underdog Denver in a 30-16 loss before routing the Falcons 43-3. Now the Cowboys are coming off a 19-9 loss to Kansas City in which the NFL’s No. 1 offense, with sub-par showings from quarterback Dak Prescott and the running game, didn’t score a touchdown.
The expected return of left tackle Tyron Smith, who missed three games with an ankle injury, could be the boost the Cowboys need.
“As we head into the latter part of the season, we got to start getting this thing back rolling,” said running back Ezekiel Elliott, who took another shot against the Chiefs to a right knee that’s been bothering him for weeks. “It’s time we
start firing on all cylinders.” THIRD-DOWN DOLDRUMS >> The common theme in the Raiders’ losing streak has been poor play on third down on both sides of the ball. Over the past three weeks, Las Vegas ranks last in the NFL with a 21.4% third-down conversion rate on offense and 31st on defense, allowing 53.5%. The Raiders had 14 straight unsuccessful third downs on offense the past two games between converting their first try against Kansas City and their last against Cincinnati.
“I put it all on me. I got to be better,” said Carr, whose team was outscored 73-27 in the losses to the Chiefs and Bengals. “If I’m better, we’re all better. That way we’re not down multiple scores late in games.”