The Raiders just couldn’t keep up with the Cowboys on Turkey Day.  They fell behind 17-0 at the half and never really mounted much of a challenge to the Cowboys in the second half.  Bruce Gradkowski completed 18 of 35 passes for 200 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 30 yards (10.0 ypc) yesterday.  Justin Fargas led the way on the ground for the Raiders yesterday with 12 carries for 63 yards (5.3 ypc) as he was running very hard.  Darren McFadden carried the ball 6 times for 23 yards (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 43 yards (10.8 avg).  Zach Miller was the Raiders’ top target in the passing game as usual with 5 grabs for 73 yards (14.6 avg).  Rookie WR Darrius Heyward-Bey pitched in with 2 catches for 21 yards (10.5 avg) including his first TD grab of his NFL career.  The Raiders finished up with 305 total yards on offense (124 rushing, 181 passing) in the game yesterday.

It appeared like DT/DE Trevor Scott was the only Raiders’ defender who came to play yesterday.  He had 6 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 3 QB hits.  The Cowboys finished up with 195 yards rushing on 25 carries (7.8 ypc) and they also passed for 299 yards which shows just how awful the defense played for the Raiders yesterday.  The Raiders are now 3-8 on the season.

The Raiders have released 25-year old CB John Bowie with a injury settlement.  Bowie played in 3 games this season for the Raiders and he made 1 tackle.  In three years with the Raiders, Bowie played in 5 games in which he made 2 tackles.  The thing that Bowie will be most remembered for in Oakland though is that he was the return the Raiders got when they traded Randy Moss to the Patriots.  Moss has played in 10 games for the Patriots this season and he has caught 63 passes for 925 yards (14.7 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  In his three years in New England, Moss has played in 42 games in which he has caught 230 passes for 3,426 yards (14.9 avg) with 42 TD grabs.  What a terrible trade that turned out to be as the Raiders could probably use Randy Moss right about now.

The Raiders have placed 26-year old OLB Jon Alston on the Injured Reserve List due to a severe concussion.  He played in 9 games for the Raiders this season and he had 23 tackles including 2 tackles for a loss.  In his four years with the Raiders, Alston has played in 39 games in which he has 66 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  This will hurt the depth of the defense and the special teams of the Raiders.

On paper this looks like a horrible match-up but games aren’t played on paper.  That was proven last week when the Raiders shocked the Bengals.  The Cowboys’ defensed has not been that great this season and the Raiders would like to exploit them on the ground.  Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden will all likely be testing the Cowboys on the ground as they are allowing 100.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Cowboys also are having problems at safety this season and the Raiders’ top receiver this season has been TE Zach Miller who could have a huge game tomorrow.  Bruce Gradkowski doesn’t have the strongest arm around but he is a solid game manager and that’s what the Raiders will be asking him to do tomorrow.

The Raiders have a solid secondary and Tony Romo has a badly bruised back so the Cowboys will likely run the ball more often than usual tomorrow.  The Raiders are allowing 157.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this season so look for Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice to all be effective.  The passing game will probaby be kept to shorter passes in a attempt to protect Romo.  That means that Jason Witten will probably be the target that Romo is targeting the most in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 20, RAIDERS 17

28-year old CB Nnamdi Asomugha is such a good player that teams really try to look to throw to the other side of the field and that’s a smart thing.  Asomugha has played in all 10 games for the Raiders so far this season and he has 24 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 102 games in his NFL career (all with the Raiders) and he has 281 tackles, 55 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and he has 11 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Maybe the Cowboys will make a mistake or two by challenging him tomorrow.

The Raiders have placed 25-year old OLB Ricky Brown on the Injured Reserve List with a bum ankle ending his season.  Brown played in 5 games for the Raiders this season and he had 31 tackles, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 2 passes.  He has now played in 41 games in his 4 years with the Raiders and he has made 89 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  The Raiders should be able to replace Brown but he was playing pretty decent this year.

The Raiders stole a game today at home against the Bengals.  New starting QB Bruce Gradkowski drove the Raiders to a game tying TD with only 33 seconds left in the game.  On the ensuing kickoff, Bengals’ WR Andre Caldwell fumbled the ball deep in their own territory setting up Sebastian Janikowski for the game winning FG.  Bruce Gradkowski was solid in this game for the Raiders as he completed 17 of 34 passes for 183 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 8 yards (1.3 ypc) today.  Justin Fargas led the way on the ground for the Raiders in this game with 8 carries for 32 yards (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Michael Bush pitched in today with 27 yards rushing on 4 carries (6.8 ypc).  Darren McFadden even got in on the action carrying the ball 6 times for 25 yards (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg).  TE Zach Miller led the way in the passing game for the Raiders today with 5 grabs for 65 yards (13.0 avg) with a TD.  Rookie WR Louis Murphy only caught 1 pass today for 29 yards but it was the game tying TD grab for the Raiders with 33 seconds left in the game.  The Raiders only had possession of the football for 21:36 of this game but they still had 275 total yards on offense (92 rushing, 183 passing).

The defense did a good job of bending but not breaking today.  CB Tyvon Branch led the way for the Raiders today with 12 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  Safety Michael Huff pitched in with 8 tackles in this game.  The Bengals finished up with 348 total yards in this game (177 rushing, 171 passing) today.  The Raiders are now 3-7 on the season with this nice home win.

The Bengals are hot as a firecracker right now as they have won three games in a row by a combined score of 80-29!  The Bengals will likely come out running the ball with rookie Bernard Scott against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 155.6 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute though that Carson Palmer won’t be putting the ball up a lot to Chad Ocho Cinco, Laveranues Coles and Andre Caldwell against a Raiders’ D giving up 211.6 yards passing per game.  Carson Palmer won’t let his team overlook the pathetic Raiders this Sunday.

The Raiders will have a new look this Sunday with Bruce Gradkowski taking over as the starting QB.  He doesn’t have the arm that JaMarcus Russell does but he is far more accurate on the short stuff.  That means that TE Zach Miller will likely be his top target this week meaning that Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe will be challenged.  The Raiders have speed to burn at WR but it’s too bad none of them can catch the football.  Michael Bush will be the main man in the running game for the Raiders and the yards will not come easy for him as the Bengals only allow 83.4 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 24, RAIDERS 17

The Raiders have benched JaMarcus Russell and it’s about time.  Russell has started all 9 games for the Raiders this season and he has completed 96 of 205 passes (46.8%) for 1,064 yards with 2 TD passes and 9 INTs (47.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 39 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this season.  The thing that drives me nuts about Russell is the fact that he just doesn’t get it.  Every time he gets pulled out of the game he acts all surprised!  At least that won’t be a issue for a while.  Bruce Gradkowski will start this week if his hamstring allows him to.  He has played in 3 games for the Raiders this season and he has completed 17 of 30 passes (56.7%) for 163 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (44.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for 34 yards (11.3 ypc) this year.  Gradkowski doesn’t have the gun that Russell does so look for the passing game to be shorter if he plays.  If Gradkowski can’t go on Sunday the Raiders will turn to Charlie Frye.  Frye has a very similar skill set to that of Gradkowski so look for more short passes if he starts.

JaMarcus Russell and the Oakland Raiders (2-7) looked pretty good in the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs (2-7), but it was all downhill from there.  They were up 10-3 after the first, but would not get any more points for the rest of the game.  The running game played well, but Russell was once again terrible.  He went 8/23 for 64 yards before being  replaced by Bruce Gradkowsk.  Gradkowski was even worse, finishing with 2 interceptions and 49 yards on 5/9 passes.  They got 182 rushing yards as a team, with Michael Bush and Justin Fargas leading the way.  Bush had 119 yards on 14 carries and Fargas has a touchdown and 41 yards on 10 carries.  The Raiders offense just doesn’t have a quarterback, so the offense is always at a disadvantage.

The Raiders defense did a solid job most of the game, but one big play was the difference-maker.  Chiefs’ running back Jamaal Charles took the momentum on a 44-yard touchdown game that tied the game at 10 in the second quarter.  Charles finished the game with 103 yards and that touchdown on 18 carries.  If the Raiders stop that big play from happening though, they probably win the game.  They held Matt Cassel to no touchdowns and 216 yards on 19/34 passes, and Chris Johnson intercepted him once.  The one play gave the Chiefs’ the edge and the Raiders offense was nowhere to be found.  The quarterback situation is pathetic for the Raiders and something needs to be done.