The Oakland Raiders are coming into their Thursday Thanksgiving Game in Week 13 after losing to the Tennessee Titans last week and the game will be starting up at 4:30 pm from AT&T Stadium and the game will be airing on CBS and streaming online from NFL.com and should be a nice matchup for the traditional celebration on Turkey Day.
The Raiders have been up and down this season and it will be Matt McGloin starting the game for the team over Terrelle Pryor and he has been solid since taking over at quarterback and the team will try and put up yards on a porous Cowboys defense. The Raiders were outplayed late last week against the Titans and now they come into the game struggling in the passing game, averaging under 200 yards per contest to rank 29th in the league and the team is also ranked in the top five in rushing yards per game despite the injury to Darren McFadden, as Rashad Jennings has been playing very well and they are now averaging over 140 yards per contest. The defense has improved in some areas and the front line is much better and they are ranked in the 10 with under 100 rushing yards allowed per game. The Cowboys have struggled running the ball while dealing with injuries and that has put more pressure on Tony Romo to play better better and he has answered the call this season with nearly 3,000 yards and over 20 touchdown passes. Romo ranks in the top part of the league in a number of categories, including passing scores and completion percentage.
The Raiders made a number of free agent moves in the offseason and while they have looked good in some areas, it hasn't come together as a team and they have just four wins this season and are 4-7 on the year heading into the Thanksgiving game. The Raiders come in after losing a tough game to the Titans and the team will be starting a rookie in Matt McGloin after he led the team to a win over the Houston Texans and he has shown why the team was right to ditch Matt Flynn. Terrelle Pryor has been dealing with a knee injury this season and heading into the back stretch, the Raiders are in the middle of a three game stretch of road games in four weeks and now they will play the next two on the road against Dallas and then against the New York Jets.
The Cowboys come into the game a bit banged up, as Sean Lee is out for the game and that could be crucial for the matchup, as he is the best linebacker on the team and the way the Raiders rush the ball, his absence will be felt big time. The team is also dealing with injuries to Gavin Escobar as well as Morris Claiborne and while Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Hatcher will play, they all are also on the injury report. The Raiders are ranked 25th in the league in passing yards per game and the team is ranked near the bottom of the league in passing yards and they are matched up with a Cowboys team that has not been stout on defense either. The Cowboys are in the top half of the league in passing yards per game and the team has struggled rushing the ball and they are in the bottom of the league in yards allowed and while the Raiders have struggled, they have the potential to break out and McGloin could end up surprising everyone.
The game on Turkey day for Thanksgiving starts up at 4:30 pm on CBS and the game has the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders playing at AT&T Stadium for the Week 13 matchup.
