The Las Vegas Raiders will try to get on the winning track on Thursday, and here are three bold predictions for the matchup against Dallas.
On Thursday, the Las Vegas Raiders will head into AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX. for a Thanksgiving matchup with the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys. After losing three straight contests post-bye week, the Raiders are facing an early-season must-win game.
This game feels even more consequential than the implications it will have on the rest of the current season. This season feels, for Mike Mayock, Derek Carr, and the entire coaching staff, like a playoffs-or-bust type of year. If the Raiders lose on Thursday, once again in convincing fashion, while the offense struggles, it could truly be the beginning of the end for the current Raiders’ regime.
Through the last three weeks, saying Carr and the Raiders offense has struggled would be an understatement. Since the bye week, the Raiders offense has failed to eclipse 20 points scored and Carr has accounted for six turnovers.
If Las Vegas has any hope of upsetting America’s Team on Thursday, the offense will need to see a drastic improvement.
The Raiders’ Thanksgiving showdown will be no cakewalk, either. The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the most consistent teams in the NFL this season, boasting a 7-3 record. Two of those losses, though, were against the NFC and AFC champions from a year ago.
The Cowboys’ offense continues to be a juggernaut as Dak Prescott is surrounded by weapons, and the defense has shown vast improvement with the addition of Micah Parsons and the hiring of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
It will require a much better performance from the Raiders than they have shown recently to win this game and if they don’t, their playoff hopes are almost certainly gone. Before this inter-conference Turkey Day battle, let’s take a look at a few bold predictions for the game.