Oakland Raiders: Power ranking the remaining games by difficulty

This one might have been higher up the list if not for the news that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will be suspended for the next six games. The first game he will miss for the Cowboys will be in Week 10 on the road versus the Atlanta Falcons. Elliott’s final game of his suspension would fall in the Week 15 against the Raiders.

Oakland has shown that it can get close to 100 yards rushing in a given week. The only problem with that is that the Raiders’ rushing attack can’t keep pace with a bell-cow back like Elliott when he’s rolling. Fortunately for the Raiders, he’s probably not going to be able to play in this Week 15 game.

Dallas’ season could collapse in a matter of weeks if Elliott proves to be irreplaceable in the Dallas backfield. The Cowboys will try their luck Alfred Morris, Darren McFadden and Jay Smith to offset the loss of Elliott. Though they could make up his production in the aggregate, the Cowboys won’t be getting anywhere close to as productive of a player as the would in Elliott.

This suspension of Elliott puts a ton of pressure on second-year quarterback Dak Prescott. If he’s as good as people think he is, then Dallas will be alright. That being said, this team could fall on its face and be out of the NFC playoff picture in a matter of weeks. A disinterested Cowboys team won’t want any part of playing in the Black Hole if the season has already been lost.