Gut Feeling: Cowboys-Raiders staff predictions – Staff- DallasCowboys.com
Some predictions for the game.
Nick: The Cowboys needed a bye week in the worst way. Now, they need a football game just as bad. Taking absolutely nothing away from the tragic events that have occurred in the last 10 days, the Cowboys must figure out a way to be mentally stronger than ever before. I have always been convinced that games are won and loss during the week. Sure, both teams will be hyped at game time under the bright Monday night lights. But are they prepared? Have they done everything necessary to be at their best?That’s always the question to ask but for the Cowboys this week, you have to wonder just how ready they’re going to be. This will be a huge test for Brian Schottenheimer and his staff but something tells me they’re not only going to be ready to play, but prepared to play as well. Hopefully, the combination of the extra emotions, coupled with the new faces and returning players on defense, and the fact this week’s opponent is near the bottom the league, I think the Cowboys will play well and be in control from start to finish. I’ll take the Cowboys running away with a 38-21 win.
Kyle Youmans: I keep hearing the phrase “get right game” tossed around this week when it comes to the Cowboys-Raiders matchup on Monday night. I don’t like that term for multiple reasons, but mostly because Las Vegas could be saying the exact same thing about playing the Cowboys at home despite a 2-7 start. Coming off the bye week, playing with a more talented roster on paper, and with an entirely new look on the defensive side of the ball, this Cowboys team should play a spirited brand of football this week. They’ll control the line of scrimmage against a Raiders team that has struggled in that regard at times, and they’ll win this game in a big way. Cowboys 33-20.
A look at some important aspects of the game.
1) Can the Cowboys offense fix their recent slump?
The Cowboys have been able to run up the scoreboard with Dak Prescott under center this season. However, the last two games for the Dallas offense have not been up to par. During the team’s last two losses, the Cowboys are averaging 20.5 points per game, compared to 31.7 points per game in their first seven games. The return of CeeDee Lamb, who missed three games due to an ankle injury, has been an adjustment for Prescott and the rest of the Cowboys offense. But the production of George Pickens in his first season in Dallas has created a conversation of the Cowboys having the best wide receiver duo in the NFL. Pickens is averaging 84.9 receiving yards, while Lamb’s contributing 81.8 yards per game. The Cowboys WR duo are two of seven wideouts to average 80-plus receiving yards per game this season. Prescott could be leaning on Lamb and Pickens throughout the night against a struggling Raiders defense.
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3) Which defense will force turnovers on Monday night?
Monday’s game will be the first time newly acquired Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson take the field. After trading Micah Parsons to Green Bay, the Cowboys defense entering Week 11 ranks 31st in points allowed per game (30.8) and total yards allowed per game (397.4). Dallas hopes its newest additions can stop the run and disrupt opposing quarterbacks. As for the Raiders, Maxx Crosby has been the consistent piece for the Silver & Black defense. Crosby leads the team with 13 tackles for loss, 10 QB hits and five sacks. Only Myles Garrett (17) and Brian Burns (15) have more tackles for loss than Crosby this season. The defensive unit that can create one or two turnovers on Monday night for its squad may be the one walking out of Las Vegas with a win.
As Dallas Cowboys eye key returns, veteran DT will miss Monday night Raiders showdown – Calvin Watkins, DMN
The Cowboys defensive tackle position is undergoing change.
During a Saturday morning conference call, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said defensive tackle Solomon Thomas will miss Monday’s game at Las Vegas with a calf injury.
Schottenheimer noted Thomas, a Coppell native, is still trying to play, but the veteran hasn’t practiced all week.
“We’re still a number of hours away from game time,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys officially ruled Thomas out for Week 11 in their latest practice report.
Thomas has played nine games, starting the last contest, a loss against Arizona on Nov. 3. He’s part of a defensive line rotation with Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Jay Toia in the interior. The addition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams via trade before the deadline and the chance of injured defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey returning from injury this week will bolster the group.
Williams hasn’t played in two weeks because, before the trade, the New York Jets were in the middle of their bye week when he was acquired by Dallas. Williams is projected to start with Clark, and if the Cowboys go in a five-man front, Odighizuwa will join that group in that alignment.
Raiders, Cowboys eager for brighter days after facing adversity – Tyler Morning Telegraph
This primetime matchup is a little bit of a letdown from expectations.
When the NFL schedule makers revealed the Week 11 Monday Night Football matchup (7:15 p.m., TV: ESPN) in mid-May, it’s safe to say they were expecting both the host Las Vegas Raiders and visiting Dallas Cowboys to be in a much better predicament than they are at present.
The Raiders (2-7) have gotten off to a nightmarish start in their first season under the esteemed Pete Carroll, highlighted by a four-game losing streak from Week 2 through Week 5 and another three-game drought beginning in Week 7 through last Thursday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, a heartbreaking 10-7 setback which Las Vegas seemingly refused to win.
Even with all the hope that placated the Raiders fanbase this offseason, the Carroll regime is in the same place Antonio Pierce was through nine games if you look solely at the record. When you dive deeper into the results, however, the Raiders have been far more competitive this season and are truly just a few bad breaks away from additional wins.
“It’s been crappy, and this is not what I expected to happen,” Carroll said. “I didn’t feel like we would be this far behind at the start of the season … It’s a kick, it’s a blocked kick, it’s an OT catch. There are four to five games here that could have flipped just like that, just with small margins of better play, better execution, better calls, and all of that.”
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