Raiders: 5 matchups to watch vs. Cowboys in Week 15
By John Buhler
The Oakland Raiders will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys in a huge primetime game this week. Here are the five man-on-man matchups to watch in this one.
It all comes down to this. The Oakland Raiders will host a team they already played and lost to in the preseason in the Dallas Cowboys this week. Not only are both team’s playoff hopes on the line, but this game will be nationally televised in primetime as the Sunday Night Football game in Week 15.
Oakland enters play at 6-7 on the year and a game back of both the AFC West division lead and the No. 6 seed in the AFC wild card race. With three games left a few tiebreakers that matter in their favor, playoff hopes are pretty bleak for the Silver and Black.
Dallas is 7-6 on the season, but will have to make the playoffs as a wild card team in the loaded NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East division title in Week 14. Dallas could make the NFC playoffs, but will have to likely beat the Raiders in Oakland to do so.
Again, this feels like a cross-off game for both teams. A loss would seal the Raiders’ fate as a team in the AFC on the outside looking in. Dallas would have a difficult time getting into the NFC playoffs as a wild card team with an at-best 9-7 record. This game between the Raiders and the Cowboys features some of the best man-on-man matchups of the season. Here are five to keep an eye on during Sunday night.
Derek Carr vs. Byron Jones
One matchup that Raiders fans will definitely be paying attention to is the one involving their quarterback. Derek Carr has had an up-and-down fourth season in the league. Some weeks, he lets it rip and is able to make big-time completions down the field. Other weeks, he comes Captain Check Down and his yards per attempt go in the toilet.
Some would argue that Carr has regressed in 2017, as there are several factors contributing to his underwhelming season. Perhaps Carr was coming off the first peak of his career and a natural regression to the mean was expected? Either way, he’ll have an opportunity to redeem himself on Sunday night against another talented player who hasn’t had a great year either.
That would be Cowboys safety Byron Jones. Jones was expected to take a huge leap forward in the Dallas secondary. That has not been the case. Apparently you can’t let guys like Barry Church and Morris Claiborne just walk out the door in free agency and everybody be okay with that. When inside linebacker Sean Lee has been hurt, the bulk of the Cowboys defense leans on Jones and it hasn’t been great.
All that aside, this game is an opportunity for both to make big plays to help their team win. Carr has the arm talent and the home crowd behind him to take advantage of a sub-par Dallas secondary. Jones has the ball skills to pick off an errant throw by Carr to take the ball the other way. This matchup could tip the scales one way or another in this high-profile matchup.