Dallas Cowboys Face Favorable Matchup In Raiders On Thanksgiving Day
By Shawn Lealos
The Dallas Cowboys play their annual Thanksgiving Day game this week against the up-and-down (mostly down) Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are playing through the 2013 season in a state of turmoil, which seems to be a norm for the once proud franchise as they still have yet to find a starting quarterback to lead them back to respectability. Here's a breakdown of the Oakland Raiders as they accept a Thanksgiving tradition and take on the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
Raiders Have Quarterback Issues
There has been a rich history of quarterbacks in Raiders history, including names like Ken Stabler, Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon. However, since Gannon led the Raiders to a Super Bowl in 2003, 14 different quarterbacks have started for Oakland, with three different QBs under center in 2013 alone.
After signing Matt Flynn to be their starter, the Raiders dumped him after only one start and went with former Ohio State Buckeyes star Terrelle Pryor. It looked like Pryor was going to be the man for the Raiders after a hot start, and while his legs have helped the team put a scare into opponents, a 10-5 interception-to-touchdown ratio have made the Raiders rethink their options.
Matt McGloin started for the Raiders after Pryor suffered a concussion and he led the team to a win over the Houston Texans with an impressive performance. While he lost his second start, he still played well enough to warrant another start this week against the Cowboys. This could be good news for Dallas, as they struggle with mobile quarterbacks and Pryor could have given them fits. However, McGloin doesn't have enough healthy targets to push Dallas and the Cowboys defense is one of the best in the NFL at forcing turnovers, something that should cause problems for the inexperienced quarterback.
Raiders Do Have Some Offensive Weapons
One area that Dallas has struggled at recently is stopping the run, something they did well at the start of the season. In their last game, the New York Giants ran for over 200 yards and they now face a new star in the Raiders backfield in Rashad Jennings, who has taken over for the injured Darren McFadden. Jennings is playing well enough to possibly keep that starting job, making McFadden expendable. Jennings finished his last game with 122 all-purpose yards and will be the key weapon against Dallas this week.
With wide receiver Denarius Moore possibly out again this week, Rod Streater will once again be the key target, giving the Cowboys secondary a nice reprieve for their Thanksgiving Day game.
Raiders on Defense
The Raiders defense ranks 25th in the NFL against the pass and eighth against the run, which measures up well for Dallas, who prefers to throw the ball more than almost any team in the NFL. While DeMarco Murray is a quality weapon, this will be a game that Dallas should win by throwing early and often against a vulnerable Oakland Raiders defensive unit.
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Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.
