What We Saw: Thanksgiving Edition

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What We Saw 2 Years Ago
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Introduction
Bears @ Lions
Raiders @ Cowboys
Bills @ Saints

Raiders @ Cowboys

Final Score: Raiders 36, Cowboys 33

Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)

 

The Las Vegas Raiders traveled to Dallas for a Thanksgiving showdown with the Cowboys. The key injuries of this game were Amari Cooper being on the COVID-19 list and CeeDee Lamb in concussion protocol. This was the most exciting game of the day and showed what both offenses can do. In the end, the Cowboys made a comeback in the fourth quarter to force overtime where the Raiders put the final dagger in the game.  The Game result was Las Vegas Raiders 36, Dallas Cowboys 33, with 28 combined penalties between the two teams. Yikes.

 

Las Vegas Raiders

 

Quarterback

 

Derek Carr: 24/39, 373 yards, TD | 2 carries, 21 yards

Marcus Mariota: 2 carries, 4 yards, TD

 

 

Going into this game, Derek Carr needed to show the NFL and his team that he could be a leader. This game was definitely a display of his talents and leadership. Carr came out slinging the ball, connecting on a 12-yard dig to Darren Waller before finding his newest weapon DeSean Jackson on a 56-yard crossing route for the first touchdown of the game. Two drives later he would use his experience to pick on Anthony Brown and help draw a couple pass interference (PI) calls that logged 41 total yards. This put the Raiders in a perfect spot to score their second TD of the game, a one-yard run by Josh Jacobs. On the following drive, Carr started to work the short and intermediate route, hitting Zay Jones for 12 yards, Waller for 21 yards, and dumping it off to Jacobs for a nine-yard gain.

After a sack-fumble (recovered by the Raiders), and a couple of punts. Carr rejuvenated his deep ball and found a wide-open Hunter Renfrow for 31 yards. Carr then found Renfrow one more time on this drive for 11 yards, setting up an RPO TD by Marcus Mariota. The next drive showed us Carr’s willingness to use his legs, as the team was against the wall on third down and Carr scrambled his way to 22 yards. This extension of the drive, plus another Cowboys PI penalty led to a Raiders field goal. Two drives later, Carr locked in on Jackson once again for 30 yards helping to set up a go-ahead field goal.

Carr took the Raiders into overtime but didn’t need to do much, as Jacobs and the Cowboy defensive penalties put the Raiders in a position to seal the deal. Overall this was a back-to-basics game for Carr, and he threw 12 deep ball passes connecting on four passes. The emergence of Jackson was the key in this game because he was brought in to fill the void left by Henry Ruggs and today he was perfect in his role.

 

Running Back

 

Josh Jacobs: 22 carries, 87 yards, TD | 4 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards

Kenyan Drake: 7 carries, 25 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards

 

 

Josh Jacobs was consistent throughout the game, making his biggest impact in overtime. On the Raiders’ only dive in overtime, Jacobs broke off a 21-yard run on second and short that changed the game for the Raiders. Prior to this run, Jacobs had 67 yards on 19 carries, averaging 3.5 YPC. One thing to note in this game is Jacobs remains involved in the receiving game with his biggest catch being for 16 yards. He also had a big missed opportunity in the third quarter, failing to reel in a slant pass that could’ve easily gone to the house. Jacobs getting involved in the receiving game has made him a consistent RB2/low-end RB1 in fantasy. Kenyan Drake continues to see time in this offense and got more rushing work today than receiving. His best plays of the game were a 10-yard catch and run, and the two runs at the end of the game for eight total yards, which helped set up the game-winning field goal.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Hunter Renfrow: 9 targets, 8 receptions, 134 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards

DeSean Jackson: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 102 yards, TD

Zay Jones: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 59 yards | 1 carry, 4 yards

Darren Waller: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 33 yards

Bryan Edwards: 1 target, 1 reception, 12 yards

Foster Moreau: 5 targets, 1 reception, 3 yard

 

 

DeSean Jackson looks really good and is making the Rams look dumb for releasing him for OBJ. He started off his day going for a 56-yard TD on a crossing route that saw him absolutely burn the safety that was over the top. Jackson also caught a 30 yarder to set up a field goal on his way to a 102-yard day. Something that really showed Jackson’s dominance in this one was when he drew two P.I. calls that totaled for 47 yards.

Hunter Renfrow also had himself a day all over the field. He received nine targets in this game and they were short, intermediate, and deep. Renfrow’s biggest plays were his 33-yard catch and run and his 54-yard deep ball catch that seemed to be completely wide open. I wanted to note that when the Raiders needed yards on third down they went straight to Renfrow on a slant or a flat. He was their “go-to guy” on Thursday. Zay Jones had a good game, going for 59 yards on five catches, but the biggest play he missed out on was a 29-yard catch that was negated by a holding call. Darren Waller made an impact early going for 12 yards on the first drive and later catching a 21-yard ball before going down with an injury that kept him out for the rest of the game. He injured his knee and it will require an MRI, so stay tuned for further updates, but the outlook isn’t pretty after the leg got rolled up on.

Daniel Carlson, the Raiders’ kicker, was the MVP of this game and took a nice bite out of the famed turkey leg while wearing an Indiana Jones hat. It was well deserved in this game as he kept making clutch field goals, and nailed a 56 yarder to put them up going into the Cowboys’ final drive of the game. Then with the game officially on the line, Carlson put a 29 yarder through the uprights. We don’t normally cover kickers here, but this performance was worth mentioning.

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

 

Dak Prescott: 32/47, 375 yards, 2 TD | 1 carry, 3 yards

 

Dak Prescott came into this game with a couple of question marks: is he worth the contract? Can he overcome the loss of CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper? Prescott got to work on the Cowboys’ second drive hitting Noah Brown for 15-yards, then going deep to Cedrick Wilson for 17. Prescott found his tight end, Sean McKeon, for a 10-yard TD to pull the Cowboys within a point. Prescott then struggled to complete three of nine pass attempts over the next three drives. On the final drive of the first half for the Cowboys, Prescott completed all three of his passes for 70-yards including an over-the-shoulder bomb to Michael Gallup for 51-yards. This would set up an Ezekiel Elliot one-yard TD run, putting the Cowboys within striking distance of the Raiders going into the half.

The second half was an explosive one for the Dallas Cowboys. After a Tony Pollard kick return TD, Prescott got back to work throwing a 41-yard pass to Gallup. After a seven-yard TD pass was nullified by an offensive penalty, the Cowboys converted a field goal. The very next drive Prescott continued to go to Gallup, this time for 32 yards, which led to a 32-yard dart to Dalton Schultz for a touchdown. The final drive of the fourth quarter showed Prescott at his finest, methodically taking what the defense was giving him. Going to Wilson twice for 21 yards, and Gallup for 17 yards leading to a game-tying field goal. In overtime, Prescott got pushed back to his own 7-yard line, and couldn’t get the first down. Fantasy-wise, Prescott is still 100 percent a QB1.

 

 

Running Back

 

Tony Pollard: 10 carries, 36 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 32 yards | 100-yard kick return TD

Ezekiel Elliot: 9 carries, 25 yards, TD | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 24 yards

 

 

Ezekiel Elliot might still be hampered by an ankle injury sustained in last week’s game, but regardless of if it’s still hurting or not, he wasn’t good today. He looked slow running the ball and caught six passes for an average of four yards per catch. He did have a one-yard touchdown, but it felt like that should’ve been Tony Pollard‘s second TD in this game. Overall I’m not worried about his status as a startable RB in fantasy. He’s just someone who isn’t a guaranteed RB1 going forward.

Pollard, on the other hand, looked extremely explosive. He caught a 14-yard pass that was originally called a TD but was then overturned, leaving the ball at the one-yard line which Zeke proceeded to punch in. I think that one-yard TD should’ve gone to the guy who got them there, but who am I to tell the Cowboys how to play football. The biggest play of the game was Pollard’s 100-yard kick return TD, which turned some heads and may get Pollard some more carries going forward.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Michael Gallup: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 106 yards

Cedrick Wilson: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 104 yards

Noah Brown: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 53 yards

Dalton Schultz: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards, TD

Sean McKeon: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards, TD

 

Michael Gallup was the big play guy in this offense, getting 90 of his 106 yards on the last three scoring drives for the Cowboys, with a 41-yard catch highlighting his day. Cedrick Wilson came back strong this week after having two drops the previous game. He came out and was targeted 10 times, catching seven passes for 104 yards. Wilson got half of his 102 yards on one big bomb in the second quarter which set up a one-yard run. Wilson’s fantasy status is non-existent when Cooper and Lamb return.

Dalton Schultz just missed a two-touchdown game. He caught a seven-yarder that was called back on a Tyron Smith holding call, but later in the fourth quarter he caught a 32 yard TD pass. The TD saved his fantasy production for the week. Noah Brown was a good short-range wideout in this game catching six of nine targets for 63 yards. His fantasy production will also go down once Lamb and Cooper return. Seon McKeon was a recipient of the first TD of the game, but shouldn’t be looked at as a fantasy option.

 

— Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Bears @ Lions
Raiders @ Cowboys
Bills @ Saints

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