After Big Upset, Raiders Still 2 Touchdown Dogs Against Dallas Cowboys

NFL News - November 23rd, 2009 - Written by John

After a surprising upset over the Cincinnati Bengals, it would appear that having a qualified quarterback under center makes the Oakland Raiders a completely different team capable of, if nothing else, staying competitive in the home stretch of the season.

Then again, these are the Raiders, and nothing promises to be reliable with the league's worst offense and 25th-ranked defense. Like the Week Six win over the Philadelphia Eagles that was followed up by a 38-0 loss to the New York Jets, oddsmakers aren't believing in Oakland. On a short week, the Raiders are early 14-point underdogs against the Dallas Cowboys in their Thanksgiving day game on Thursday, with a total of 40 1/2 according to BetUS sportsbook and their NFL Week 12 Betting Odds.

But for the moment, Oakland Raiders fans have four days to savor the team's best win of the year. After pulling JaMarcus Russell due to a calamity of errors, wide receivers finally found themselves a part of the game. And it resulted two passing touchdowns for the first time this season. Bruce Gradkowski hit Zach Miller with a touchdown in the second quarter, then completed the comeback with a touchdown pass to Louis Murphy that enabled Sebastian Janikowski's game-winning field goal. He finished the day with 183 yards and, most importantly, only two turnovers.

"We're just fortunate the defense did a great job, got the ball back," Gradkowski said about a Cincinnati fumble on a kick return late in the game. "We made a couple plays and that's it."

But it's been the Raiders' defense has been the problem for much of the year, surrendering 23 or more points six times. And Dallas isn't necessarily coming into the game on a rampage.

Last week, it took three-and-a-half quarters to score a touchdown against the Washington Redskins, narrowly winning a 7-6 game. Patrick Crayton had the winning reception, but breakout receiver Miles Austin was held scoreless for the second-straight week after finding the end zone in his first three starts.

Dallas currently leads the division by only one game after the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles each won. With a game against the Giants coming up the following week, and two division games to close out the season, every remaining contest will be valuable as Tony Romo tries to shake off his late-season demons.

The Cowboys are 4-1 in their new stadium, the lone loss coming in the home opener, averaging just over 20 points per game. That total will probably be enough against an Oakland team that hasn't crossed the 20-point total yet. Dallas has the fifth-best offense with Romo. He has 2,624 yards and 15 touchdowns, the majority of those going to Austin, who leads the team with 679 yards and seven scores.

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