The Dallas Cowboys got off to a slow start on Thanksgiving at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. They stormed through the fourth quarter to tie the game and force overtime.
Penalties on third down, particularly four defensive pass interference penalties, paved the way for a Raiders victory.
A short field goal set up the win for the visiting team and led to the second consecutive loss of the season for Dallas. This was their third loss in four games, all to teams from the AFC West.
While the Raiders outplayed the Cowboys in several aspects, it was undoubtedly the numerous penalties that set the tenor of the game.
A combined total of 28 penalties were accepted during the game, with 14 going to each team. The Cowboys were penalized a total of 166 yards.
Two missed kicks by Greg Zuerlein also contributed to the defeat; one miss was an extra point on the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the day, the other on a very long field goal that dinged off the left upright.
At least one point was also left on the field after head coach Mike McCarthy decided to go for a two-point conversion after successfully completing an extra point that saw the Raiders penalized for leveraging.
The attempt failed, resulting in the Cowboys losing the point. Zuerlein has missed five field goals and three extra points this season.
Dallas’ offense has been out of sync in recent games, and the unavailability of receivers Amari Cooper (COVID-19) and CeeDee Lamb (concussion) was evident.
The Cowboys’ backups struggled in a second game to get open and make catches when it counted, despite logging two 100-yard receivers. Michael Gallup, in his third game back after suffering an injury in Week 1, had five receptions for 109 yards, including a 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders’ defense shut down the Dallas run game, with the team only managing to compile 64 yards on the day.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was held to 25 yards, his lowest total of the season, and Tony Pollard, whose electrifying kickoff return TD helped spark the fourth-quarter comeback, had only 36 yards rushing on ten tries.
With no run game and lacking the highest-powered offensive weapons, quarterback Dak Prescott struggled to move the ball through most of the game.
Seven drives, including the Cowboys’ only opportunity in overtime, ended in punts. Only two of those drives took more than five plays, giving the Raiders bonus time to come away with the victory.
Las Vegas owned the time of possession advantage with 39:02 to the Cowboys 26:30.
The few bright spots for the Cowboys came on the defensive side of the ball. Micah Parsons continues to impress, and his two tackles for loss and his ninth sack of the season set a rookie record.
Parsons was not immune from the flag-fest, though, and collected a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty after Raiders QB Derek Carr fell headfirst into parsons knee.
The Cowboys managed to put up 22 second-half points while lacking their most significant contributors on offense, a sign that if and when this team gets healthy, they can compete against any team in the NFL.
