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

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 Oakland Raiders (2-6) are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) Sunday and are looking for their second win this season against the Chiefs.  In their last match-up the Raiders squeezed out a close 13-10 win when Darren McFadded scored with about a minute left in the game.  McFadden has been out with a knee injury since 5th week, but the Raiders will have him back in this contest.  The Raiders did give up 409 yards to the Chiefs last game, but got two turnovers.  The Raiders will need more turnovers if this rematch, or they need to do a better job limiting the Chiefs’ yardage.  Both would be nice, but it is the Raiders so i doubt it.

JaMarcus Russell needs to have another turnover free game, like he did in the Raiders last game against the Chiefs.  Russel has had a terrible season, with 2 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.  He will have some extra help with McFadden back, but I don’t know how effective McFadden will be in his first game back.  The Chiefs have a decent quarterback in Matt Cassel, but their running backs are unproven since Larry Johnson was dismissed from the team.  I think the Chiefs offense is still better though, and as long as JaMarcus Russell is a quarterback I never feel good about the Raiders winning.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 24, Oakland Raiders 20

In week #1 these two teams played on Monday Night Football in Oakland and the Chargers snuck out of town with a 24-20 win.  The teams look very different right now as the Raiders are only averaging 8.9 points per game and 227.6 yards of total offense per game.  The Raiders will come out running the football with Justin Fargas against the soft run defense of the Chargers which is allowing 137.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Raiders need to keep the ball on the ground to protect JaMarcus Russell who has turned the ball over 13 times already this season (5 lost fumbles, 8 interceptions).  The Chargers will be keying on stopping TE Zach Miller who is the best receiver the Raiders have to offer.

The Chargers will come out throwing the ball against the Raiders to get them out of their gamplan.  Philip Rivers will likely be aiming for Vincent Jackson deep and Antonio Gates on the short stuff.  The Raiders are allowing 169.7 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so the Chargers hope that LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles can give the team some balance on offense in this game. 

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 34, RAIDERS 13

This game pits the New York Jets (3-3) against the Oakland Raiders (2-4) who are trying to build a winning streak after beating the Eagles 13-9 at the Black Hole.  The Jets will no doubt come out running the football against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 145.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  Thomas Jones and Leon Washington will likely have field days against the Raiders.  But they did last week against the Bills and Mark Sanchez threw the game away throwing 5 pickoffs.  The Raiders do give up 220.2 yards passing per game so maybe Sanchez can turn things around this week. 

The Raiders will also come out running the ball with Justin Fargas likely being the workhorse.  The Jets are allowing 115.7 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so Huggy Bear Jr. (Fargas) could have a good game on Sunday.  The Raiders had better be able to run the ball or JaMarcus Russell could be in deep trouble.  The Jets only have 5 sacks this season so Russell will likely have time to throw the ball.  It’s too bad that only TE Zach Miller can catch the football.

PREDICTION:  JETS 13, RAIDERS 10