Flag Football: Cowboys fall to Raiders in OT on yet another yellow hankie, 36-33
Third and 18.
The Dallas Cowboys defense had a chance to get off the field in overtime, and Anthony Brown struck again. Somehow, the No. 2 cornerback was his with his fourth defensive pass interference call of the game, all on third downs and what looked like an upcoming chance to win it turned into an almost assured defeat in the matter of one face-guarded slight contact penalty.
Thanksgiving was not kind to the Cowboys as they took on the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday. Trailing for much of the game, Dallas stormed back to tie the game twice with less than three minutes remaining to send the game to an extra stanza. Unfortunately Dallas gave up 166 penalty yards on the day, and the last several were egregious. The referees were looking to get some camera time and the most penalized team in America gave them the opportunity. In the end, Dallas falls 36-33 to drop to 7-4 on the season.
Dallas has lost three of their last four games and all to AFC West opponents.
Playing without four of their top 10 players, the team didn’t look sharp for much of the contest, despite still seeming to have a talent advantage over the Raiders. One of the healthiest position groups was the secondary though, but they played like a bunch of backups. Penalty-laden coverage, bad angles, too much cushion gave Derek Carr a chance to pass for 373 yards plus all of the DPI yardage tacked on.
It overshadowed a mostly beautiful game by Dak Prescott, who finished with 375 yards, two touchdown throws and no picks for a 106.2 rating in a game without Amari Cooper or CeeDee Lamb. The run game was mostly inefficient and when it mattered most, Prescott missed an open Noah Brown to convert a third down in overtime, leading to the Raiders’ winning possession.
The Cowboys will likely get three of their stars back with both receivers on schedule to play Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints along with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who started practicing for the first time since Week 2.
The loss keeps the NFC East in question, as the Philadelphia Eagles have been hot at sit at 5-6 ahead of a matchup with the New York Giants on Sunday.
