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When the Dallas Cowboys take on the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night, they may not have to face one of Oakland’s best players from the last couple of years. Wide receiver Amari Cooper has been dealing with an ankle injury and it doesn’t look like he will be able to go this week.
Raiders WR Amari Cooper not practicing for second straight day. Not expected to play Sunday vs. Cowboys after aggravating left ankle sprain vs. Chiefs.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 14, 2017
Without Cooper, Michael Crabtree is the lead dog, and the Raiders could turn to Cordarrelle Patterson to replace Cooper. It hasn’t been a great 2017 for Cooper whose statistics were already down from his first couple of years in the league.
In fact, the whole Raiders passing game is not playing at the level it did last year when they made the playoffs and raised expectations for the team in 2017. The lack of the deep ball has hindered their offense and they want to throw more of them this week, but they won’t be to Cooper.
The Raiders, much like the Cowboys, are hanging on to their playoff hopes by a mere thread. A loss on Sunday would likely crush their 2017 season for good.