Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys: 3 things we learned in Week 12
Raiders must get DeSean Jackson involved
Early on, it was clear that the Las Vegas Raiders wanted to get DeSean Jackson involved, as he was hit deep by Derek Carr for the first score of the game. After losing Henry Ruggs III, the Raiders were lacking a serious speedster deep, and while it has taken a few weeks, Jackson looks like he could be just that for them moving forward.
Not only was Jackson able to haul in a 50-plus yard touchdown to kick off the scoring, but he also drew some timely defensive pass interference calls against Anthony Brown. For the game, Jackson has three catches for over 100 yards and the touchdown, a breakout game for a player who is going to play a monster role for this team down the stretch.
If Jackson can be this kind of playmaker for this offense, it completely changes what they can dial up, especially downfield. While Jackson is up there in age, he still has the wheels to beat any cornerback deep, and he showed on Thursday that the Raiders made the right move by bringing him in after his release from the Los Angeles Rams.