Raiders at Cowboys: Defensive Grades for 2021 Week 12

The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a much-needed victory in Week 12, and here, we take a look at the defensive grades against Dallas.

In a Thanksgiving clash that saw the Las Vegas Raiders snap their three-game skid, it may have been the rejuvenation the franchise needed, as they overcame the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas on Thursday. It was a closely contested matchup that came down to a game-winning field goal in overtime for the Raiders, and the hope is that the Silver and Black can continue their winning ways against another NFC East opponent, as they face off against the Washington Football Team next week.

The 36-33 victory was indeed a shootout, so there wasn’t much in terms of super play from individual talents on this defense. However, there was some good in the bad in this one. Let’s take a look at defensive grades for each positional group.

Raiders at Cowboys: Defensive Grades for 2021 Week 12

Defensive Line

The one-two combo of Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby has been the highlight of this Raiders defense thus far this season. In this one, they were not up to their usual standards, as there was only one sack produced between the two (by Ngakoue).

So while there was some pressure applied occasionally on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, he went largely untouched to the tune of almost 400 passing yards. The highlight of this defense was the stifling of the Cowboys running game, as Dallas was only able to muster 64 yards on the ground.

This balances out the day for the Raiders, as they did not have the best day on this defensive line, but not the worst.

Grade: C