5 reasons Oakland Raiders can beat Dallas Cowboys in Week 15

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Bruce Irvin No. 51 and Khalil Mack No. 52 of the Oakland Raiders celebrate after a play against the New York Giants during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Bruce Irvin No. 51 and Khalil Mack No. 52 of the Oakland Raiders celebrate after a play against the New York Giants during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 03: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a nine-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Holton No. 16 in the fourth quarter of their NFL game against the New York Giants at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 03: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after a nine-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Holton No. 16 in the fourth quarter of their NFL game against the New York Giants at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 3, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Look for Derek Carr to bounce back after one of his worst games of the season.

Well, let’s hope that Derek Carr has a bounce back game for the Raiders. He played arguably his worst game of the year versus the Chiefs last week. Carr struggled with his accuracy and only gained yards through the air in extreme garbage time last week in the fourth quarter. He’ll have to play better for the Raiders to win, but can he do it?

Though Kansas City didn’t have an elite defense either, Dallas is better known for its offensive prowess than its defensive acumen as a football team. It’s best defensive player is middle linebacker Sean Lee. While Lee is fantastic when out on the field, he is very much injury prone. The Dallas secondary has taken a step back after both Barry Church and Morris Claiborne left in free agency.

This has put a ton on safety Byron Jones‘ plate. He’ll eventually figure it out, but this has been a year of great adjustment for the Dallas defensive back. Look for Carr to exploit the inefficiencies and vulnerabilities in this Dallas defense. Lee is more than a handful, but there are ways to move the sticks on the Cowboys defense.

The pressure is certainly on Carr in this game. He can’t have another stinker of a ball game after that terrible loss to the Chiefs. Though he doesn’t have to throw for 300 yards in this game to win, he has to be more than Captain Check Down to win this game. Expect him and offensive coordinator to have a better approach this game versus Dallas. Let it rip!