It was a happy, albeit very long, Thanksgiving for the Raiders. In a game that took nearly four hours in real-time, the Raiders would go blow-for-blow with the Cowboys and come out on top in the end with a 36-33 overtime win.
Ballers
WR DeSean Jackson
There were no questions whatsoever that the difference in this Raiders offense from their three-game losing streak was the presence of Jackson. This offense showed just how toothless it was without a deep threat since Henry Ruggs III was released.
Jackson is 12 years Ruggs’s senior, but the savvy veteran still has the speed to get open and separate from defenders. He put that on display early in this one, getting behind a defender, making the catch, and cruising 56 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.
Just his presence was clearly opening things up for others and the Raiders offense was resurrected. With the Raiders in scoring position already late in the second quarter, Jackson forced a pass interference in the end zone that put them in first and goal from the one and they scored on the next play to give them a 14-6 lead.
Another pass interference from Jackson’s man set the Raiders up for a field goal late in the third quarter and they took a 27-19 lead. The next two Raiders scoring drives began with Jackson catches of 16 and 29 yards respectively to give the Raiders a 33-30 lead late. It’s no coincidence the game Jackson sees his snaps basically triple, the Raiders score a season-high 36 points.
K Daniel Carlson
Five field goals — a career-high. A 56-yard field goal to give the Raiders a late lead — a career-high. Game-winner in overtime — BALLER. Turkey leg. Goodnight.
DT Johnathan Hankins
Hankins is a big man. He likes to eat. It was Thanksgiving. And he was feasting. Four different times in this game, Big Hank made the big play on the drive.
We start with the Cowboys’ third drive. On the first play, Hankins stuffs a run for two yards. That helped lead to a three-and-out. Next drive he was held on a run. Three plays late, the drive was over.
The first Dallas drive of the third quarter featured Hankins batting a ball down at the line. The drive would stall a few plays later. In the final possession of the third quarter, Hankins stuffed a run for one yard and it led to another three-and-out.
The overtime period began with the Cowboys on offense at their own seven-yard-line. On the second play, Hankins ran down a screen — yes all 340 pounds of him — to make the stop at four yards. It led to a three-and-out and a punt from their own end zone. The Raiders would then drive for the game-winner.
RB Josh Jacobs
Jacobs put up a season-high 87 yards rushing and had 112 yards from scrimmage. He also scored a touchdown from one yard out late in the second quarter to give the Raiders a 14-6 lead.
The next Raiders drive saw him break a tackle on a screen pass and go for 17 yards. He added a nine-yard run from the 20 and a three-yard run to put the Raiders in third and goal from the three, but the Raiders couldn’t get the TD and settled for a chip shot field goal.
Early in the third, Jacobs would help the Raiders get back into goal-to-go with consecutive six-yard runs. This time Mariota came in and faked the handoff to Jacobs and took it in for the touchdown and a 24-13 lead.
In the overtime period, Jacobs started the Raiders’ drive with an eight-yard catch off a swing pass, followed by an 18-yard run that put the Raiders in Dallas territory at the 49. They would go on to win it on a short field goal.
WR Hunter Renfrow, QB Derek Carr
Carr was slinging it again and Renfrow was his favorite target. So much so that the shifty slot receiver set career marks in catches (8) and yards (134). He also had career-long catches TWICE in this game.
The day started with Carr throwing a surgical pass over the defender to Desean Jackson for a 56-yard touchdown. The next two scoring drives would feature completions on third and long to Bryan Edwards (12 yards) and Zay Jones (12 yards).
Early in the third quarter, Carr connected with Renfrow for 31 yards — a new career-long catch for Renfrow. It would put the Raiders at the Dallas 44. Two plays later Carr went back to Renfrow for 14 yards. That drive would end in a touchdown.
The Cowboys would answer with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown by Tony Pollard. Carr was inspired by Pollard’s wheels and on the ensuing drive, he broke off a season-best 22-yard run on third and 11. That drive would lead to a field goal and a 27-19 lead.
Carr found Jackson again for 16 yards to begin the next drive. Then Renfrow broke open deep and made another career-long catch of 54 yards to the Dallas 15. They would settle for a field goal and a 30-22 lead.
No doubt the Raiders and Derek Carr benefited greatly from a few pass interference penalties in this game. But even with the yards on those penalties, Carr still completed 24 passes for 373 yards and a touchdown.
S Johnathan Abram, DE Yannick Ngakoue
The Cowboys opened the game with a three-and-out with Ngakoue making the run stop on second down and Abram making the tackle on a one-yard catch on third and four.
After a Dallas scoring drive, they went three-and-out again. On third and 13, Abram had coverage on an incompletion.
With the Raiders holding a 17-6 lead late in the second quarter, Ngakoue got around Tyron Smith to put a hit on Dak Prescott to force an incompletion. Two plays later, they would attempt a 59-yard field goal and miss it, giving the Raiders good field position.
With a chance to take a lead early in the third quarter, the Raiders defense stiffened up just in time. On third and ten, Abram made the stop on a seven-yard screen to force a punt.
Later in the quarter, the Cowboys would score on a 100-yard kick return. They opted to go for two and Abram burst past his blocker to blow up the play and keep the score at 24-19. That would turn out to be a crucial stop.
Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared for a moment that Abram had given up a touchdown. But Ngakoue was held on the play and the Cowboys were marched back to third and 13 and would settle for a field goal. The next Dallas possession ended with and three-and-out and Ngakoue sacking Prescott on third and five.
Just as Abram stopped the two-point conversion attempt earlier, he surrendered one on a catch late in the fourth that tied up the game at 30-30. But you can’t fault him too much because had he not made the first stop, that would have been an extra-point attempt for the lead.
Abram would put up two tackles on the Cowboys’ final drive of regulation and the first tackle of overtime to finish with a team-leading ten combined tackles.
Ngakoue would add his team-leading eighth sack of the season and lead the team in this game with two QB hits and a tackle for loss.
P AJ Cole
Four of his five punts were stopped inside the 20. He finished with a net of 45.4 yards per punt.
LG John Simpson
He made the block to clear the way for Josh Jacobs to score untouched from one yard out. The next drive he blocked for Kenyan Drake on a four-yard run that put the Raiders in first and goal. Simpson’s biggest play came on the next drive when he recovered Derek Carr’s fumble off the strip-sack.