Biggest Matchups for Raiders in Thanksgiving Showdown vs. Cowboys

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of a few NFL teams that desperately need a victory. 

They enter their Thanksgiving Day clash with the Dallas Cowboys on a three-game losing streak and in danger of falling too far out of the AFC West and wild-card races. 

The Raiders' offense has not found its groove during the losing run, and it hasn't produced more than 16 points in a single game and has committed seven turnovers. 

The good news for Las Vegas is that Dallas does not come into AT&T Stadium on a hot streak and is dealing with some injuries. 

The Cowboys' 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 has presented the Raiders with a blueprint to beat the NFC East leader. 

Las Vegas needs its pass rush to move Dak Prescott out of the pocket and make life hard on Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in order to leave Texas with a holiday victory. 

The Cowboys allowed quarterback Dak Prescott to be sacked on five occasions in Week 11. Prior to Sunday, he was taken down four times during a five-game span.

In Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue, the Raiders have two defensive ends who could make life difficult for Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith.

Crosby and Ngakoue combined for 12 sacks and 36 quarterback hits through 11 weeks. The latter has more sacks, while the former has an edge of 10 in quarterback hits. 

One of them will line up across from Smith for the entire game. The other should attack right tackle Terence Steele and force Zack Martin to slide over from right guard to provide help.

If Crosby and Ngakoue disrupt Prescott's progressions in the pocket, it could lead to sacks, loss of yardage on plays or turnovers. 

The Las Vegas defense has produced at least one turnover in each of the last five games. There is a higher chance of forcing Prescott into an interception on Thursday since he will be without Amari Cooper and could miss CeeDee Lamb due to a concussion. 

Darren Waller is Las Vegas' No. 1 passing-game threat. The tight end leads the team with 610 receiving yards and is coming off a 116-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

On Sunday, Dallas allowed Travis Kelce to pick up 74 receiving yards on five receptions. He also scored on a four-yard run. 

Dallas gives up the ninth-most receiving yards to opposing tight ends, and it has also conceded four touchdown catches to TEs. 

Waller is going to earn a large share of targets from Derek Carr in any game, but he should have more importance on Thursday given the struggles Dallas has had covering the position at times. 

The worst possible matchup for Waller would be against Micah Parsons in coverage. The Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate has the athleticism to keep up with him, but he could be occupied in the pass rush.

Quarterback Carr needs to pick out Waller on the plays in which Parsons is far away from the tight end to exploit a coverage mismatch and produce long gains. 

If that happens, Las Vegas could get on the board early and force the depleted Dallas passing attack to play catch up. 

Derek Carr can't allow himself to make a mistake when he throws in Trevon Diggs' direction.

The Cowboys cornerback has eight interceptions on 67 targets this season, and he returned two of those picks back into the end zone. 

Diggs should be floating around the Dallas secondary on Thursday since Carr does not have a standout No. 1 wide receiver. 

Hunter Renfrow leads the Raiders in catches, but he is more suited for third-down and red-zone roles. Bryan Edwards and Zay Jones have not gotten involved enough in the last few weeks. 

Diggs will try to shut down one part of the field to force Carr to throw into Waller, or make short-range passes to Renfrow and the Raiders running backs. 

If Carr finds a matchup or two throughout the game against Diggs that suit him, he should try to take advantage of it. 

Diggs allowed 270 yards after the catch and has nine missed tackles. If Edwards, Jones or any other pass-catcher gets in the right position, they could smoke the cornerback for a large gain. 

As long Carr finds a good balance of aggression and caution when throwing at Diggs, he should avoid his 10th interception of the season while pushing the Raiders down the field. 

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.