For many of the Cowboys’ players, especially those closest to defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, it has to feel like forever since this team last played a game, a losing affair at home against the Arizona Cardinals. But when Dallas takes the field in its first trip to Las Vegas on Monday night, it starts a run of four games in 24 days — Monday, Sunday, Thursday, Thursday — that will determine whether or not this team can even pretend to have wild-card hopes as it gets deeper into December.
And the Raiders at 2-7 represent the best hope for a Dallas victory, given that the Cowboys follow up with games against last year’s Super Bowl teams at home, then a night game against the Lions, who nearly broke the record for most one-sided Cowboys defeat in a 47-9 affair last October.
Dallas is about a field goal favorite for this game and will be the underdog in at least its next three contests, but who can predict the Cowboys’ mindset Monday at Allegiant Stadium? Dealing with the suicide loss of a family member or friend is challenging in any set of circumstances, but for young football players, measured and defined almost daily by their toughness, it must be grueling.
“For some guys, getting out on the grass will be the best thing for them,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said this week. “Some guys getting down in the grass is going to be painful, but that’s OK. We’re going to give each other grace and time. But I do promise you this. Those guys will be ready to play against the Raiders.’’
Cowboys
What exactly might “ready for the Raiders” entail? Las Vegas is 2-7, but, somewhat like the Cardinals, who beat Dallas 27-17, the Raiders have been on the wrong side of some close margins — a one-point loss to Chicago, a three-point loss in Denver, an overtime defeat against Jacksonville. More than anything, the Raiders’ offensive line has been overwhelmed too often this season. Quarterback Geno Smith has been sacked 27 times, fourth most in the league, while rookie running back Ashton Jeanty of Frisco Lone Star has had to work for every inch while averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. That’s down from 7.0 per carry at Boise State where his 2,601 rushing yards helped him finish second in the Heisman voting last December.
This game will mark the unveiling of Dallas’ new run defense. It has been a trouble spot for years, but the club’s major trade of first- and second-round picks to the Jets for Quinnen Williams is designed to fix the club’s weakest area. Williams has the best run-stopping metrics in the league since the defensive tackle was picked third in the 2019 draft behind Kyler Murray and Nick Bosa. His arrival would clearly be the top storyline for the Cowboys in this game, if the club had not met with tragedy the day after his acquisition.
While Schottenheimer can only speculate on how players will adapt to getting back on the field, this should largely become a contest of which defense can get off the field. Meaning on third downs. The Raiders are one of the worst, allowing 45% conversions to rank 29th in the league. But Dallas is dead last in surrendering first downs on 52.6% of third downs.
Surely an ability to slow down the opposing running game will get the Cowboys into better third-down distances, and maybe we see that number become something more manageable over the second half of the season. But who’s to say the disappearance of the Dallas offense in the last game against Arizona was an anomaly? The unit scored 10 points and just three in the first three quarters. It’s still ranked the fourth-best offense in the league, but that’s down from first in several categories. This team has no chance of surviving the stretch that‘s coming these next three weeks without a 30-points-per-game contribution from Dak and Co.
It’s not quite the Cowboys-Raiders matchup that the folks at Disney would have hoped for when the schedule was released last spring. Two teams with eight Lombardi Trophies and 30 — yes, 30 — conference championship game appearances between them have been spinning their wheels for years. While Dallas hasn’t advanced to the NFC title game since the 1995 season, the Raiders last made it following the 2002 season. In six years of calling Las Vegas home, the Raiders have never hosted a playoff game, are just 0-1 in the postseason and aren’t going anywhere this January.
The same is probably true for the Cowboys. But the small glimmer of hope that remains demands a victory in Vegas as they return to work, searching perhaps for a focus and a perspective they never expected to be altered, as it has been off the field.
Final five thoughts about Cowboys-Raiders: Dallas enters a must-win situation in Vegas
Monday night’s game is an important one for a Cowboys team hoping to stay in the playoff conversation.
How different will the Cowboys’ defense be with as many as six new players vs. Raiders?
With Quinnen Williams, DeMarvion Overshown and others in the mix, Dallas’ defense could look very different Monday night.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.