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.