Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys: 3 Surprises in Week 12

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 25: DeSean Jackson #1 of the Las Vegas Raiders makes a reception under pressure from Jourdan Lewis #26 of the Dallas Cowboys before scoring his side first touchdown during the first quarter of the NFL game between Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 25, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys: 3 Surprises in Week 12

Raiders go vertical

Early in the 2021 season, especially when Jon Gruden resigned, the Raiders were going vertical a lot more than they had been in the past. Former first-round pick Henry Ruggs III was rounding into a legitimate threat deep, and in the middle of a breakout season, before allegedly driving drunk and killing 23-year old Tina Tintor.

Trying to recapture that kind of threat is tough to do, and the Raiders attempted to do so by adding free agent DeSean Jackson. While Jackson did not do much the first two games with the team, at least in a positive manner, he broke out in game No. 3, as the Raiders continued to attack Anthony Brown deep with Jackson.

This was a nice change from what we have seen since the bye week, as they have looked very vanilla on offense, could not convert third downs, and were not taking many shots downfield. That changed on Thursday, and if they continue to incorporate that into their game plan, they are going to be very hard to stop.

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