COWBOYS ROMP OVER HAPLESS RAIDERS

One week after their offense sputtered against the Washington Redskins, the Dallas Cowboys were back in the groove on Thanksgiving Day.  Dallas piled up 494 yards of total offense as they easily handled the lowly Oakland Raiders 24-7.  Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the victory.  Dallas won for the sixth time in their last seven games and improved to 8-3 on the season while Oakland slumped to 3-8.

The Cowboys easily covered the NFL pointspread as -13’ home favorites.  Dallas improved to 6-5 against the spread while Oakland dropped to 5-6.  The 31 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 40’.  The Cowboys have gone UNDER in four straight games and six of eleven this year, while the Raiders have gone UNDER in seven of eleven.

After the game, Cowboys’ QB Romo talked of his team’s ‘one game at a time’ focus:

"I think we have a lot to prove -- just for this season, though. I don't think any other season has any bearing whatsoever. For us, it's strictly about right now and this next game. We'll go from there."

"I think you put yourself in position well before December. You have to maintain a level of consistency, then you raise it up going into January -- if you're good enough to do that."

Dallas running back Tashard Choice said his team still has a lot of work to do:

"We still have a lot of work to do. A lot of things that we've messed up on we have to get better. We have to stay focused coming into December."

The Raiders’ were off an upset win of Cincinnati and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha  spoke of the difficulty of winning back to back games:

"Trying to win two games for us has been like trying to climb Mount Everest. We haven't been able to get any momentum going."

Raiders’ QB Bruce Gradowski, starting in place of ineffectual Jamarcus Russell, had a decent performance with 200 yards passing and a touchdown against no interceptions.  Still, he took the blame for the loss:

"There were plays out there to be made early on. We didn't make them. I take the blame. I missed a couple early throws on that would have given our team energy."

The Cowboys now face a big game on the road next Sunday against the New York Giants.  They’ll return home one week later to host the San Diego Chargers before heading to New Orleans to face the Saints.  Oakland will play at Pittsburgh next Sunday before returning home to battle the Washington Redskins.  They’ll be back on the road the following Sunday against the Denver Broncos.