Oakland Raiders: 5 players who helped themselves vs. the Cowboys

The Oakland Raiders might have lost their third preseason game, but here are five players that certainly helped themselves versus the Dallas Cowboys.

This was the best of the three preseason games that the Oakland Raiders have played so far in 2017. While they still fell to the Dallas Cowboys 24-20, Oakland showed some level of balance on both offense and defense.

Quarterback Derek Carr was able to move the sticks in Todd Downing’s offense. Defensively, there was a time that the Raiders were actually able to force the Cowboys to punt on four straight Dallas possessions. That was great, but the overall play from the special teams was not.

Overall, this is the type of effort you’d hope to see in the much talked about dress rehearsal game. The Silver and Black were right there to beat one of the better teams in the NFC from last year at their place. However, the Raiders defense and special teams allowed the Cowboys to overtake them and win the ball game.

Here are five Raiders that certainly helped themselves with strong showings against the Cowboys on Saturday night in Jerryworld in preseason Week 3.

After looking like he might get cut after not playing very much, if at all, in the first two preseason games, seventh-round running back Elijah Hood left an indelible impression in the Raiders’ ground game. The former North Carolina Tar Heel standout seems to be healthy and that’s a good thing for him on his quest to making the team.

Hood had three carries for 20 yards on the night. While that was the beginning and the end of his on-field production, that was a night where he averaged 6.7 yards per carry and a long of 12. Hood looks to be one of those runners that can explode into the second level of a defense if he gets the right block or two in front of him.

He’s still the fourth running back on the Raiders depth chart and may not end up making the team any way. However, there is something about him that will make the Raiders put him on their practice squad for this season.

Should one of the Raiders running backs ahead of him succumb to injury he’ll be ready to come in and make a difference in the Oakland backfield. What we’ve seen out of Hood is that he looks progressively better every time he takes the field for the Silver and Black. This was an impressive game from the rookie running back.