Raiders at Cowboys: Losing to Dallas may not have been a bad thing for Las Vegas

Last preseason, the Las Vegas Raiders were perfect, winning all four games they played and building up some hype heading into the 2022 regular season. The Raiders played an extra preseason game last year due to them participating in the Hall of Fame Game, a game that saw Josh McDaniels play Josh Jacobs.

This preseason, the Raiders once again got out to a perfect start, beating two NFC West opponents by a score of 68-24. Already 6-0 in the McDaniels tenure as head coach, the Raiders went into their game on Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys as favorites, but would end up on the wrong side of a 31-16 final score.

While it never is good to lose a game, whether it be the preseason or the regular season, maybe the Raiders falling on Saturday night was not such a bad thing. The biggest thing for the Raiders was seeing some guys play for the final time as we inch closer to the cut date on Tuesday, and we now have a pretty good idea of what the 53-man roster could look like for Week 1 against Denver.

Raiders have some big cuts to make

Like all of the NFL teams, the Raiders have to have their 53-man roster by 1PM PT on Tuesday, August 29, so that does not give Dave Ziegler and McDaniels much time to finalize the group that will break camp in 2023. The Raiders are coming off a tough 2022 season that saw them win only six games, a season that forced Ziegler's hand in moving some large pieces, including quarterback Derek Carr.

In 2023, there is not much hype surrounding the team, but looking at it as a whole, there is more talent this summer than there was a year ago. Position battles have raged on all summer long, and in the end, this is going to be a tough cut period for the Raiders, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The hope is that the Raiders have done enough this offseason with the roster to get this franchise pointed in the right direction.