Raiders And Cowboys Gear Up For Thanksgiving Day Matchup

The Raiders travel to Dallas to take on a Cowboys team that is currently tied for first place in the NFC East. The Raiders are still alive for the sixth playoff spot in the AFC but will need to put together a string of wins starting on Thursday against the Cowboys. These two teams face off starting at 4:30pm ET on CBS.

This game might simply come down to how well Tony Romo plays. The matchup against the Raiders will Romo’s seventh Thanksgiving Game and has put together a pretty solid stat sheet on the day of giving thanks. In his six career Thanksgiving games Romo has thrown for 1,808 yards, 17 touchdown passes, six interceptions and a 5-1 record. Romo’s only lost came last season to the Washington Redskins despite throwing for 441 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. For the Cowboys it will come down to the passing game against a Raiders defense that is allowing over 250 yards a game and allowed over 300 during their week 12 loss.

The Raiders come in with a tough decision at quarterback as they have gone to Matt McGloin the last two weeks. McGloin had led the Raiders to a 1-1 record with 457 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The other option would be to put Terrelle Pryor back under center and see if the two week layoff has taken off some of the pressure. The Raiders will need to take advantage of the Cowboys 31st passing defense and 30th ranked rushing defense if they want to win this game.

The Cowboys will be making their 44th appearance on Thanksgiving and hold a 28-15-1 record. The Raiders will be making their seventh appearance during the holiday game with their last appearance coming in 2009. That game featured these same two teams as the Raiders fell to the Cowboys 24-7 behind a strong game from Tony Romo.

In his career Romo has taken home two CBS All-Iron Awards and one Fox Galloping Gobbler Award for his play on Thanksgiving.