Cowboys vs. Raiders: The good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 12

Don’t worry. That rumbling you feel in your stomach isn’t food poisoning from all of the food you consumed on Thanksgiving. It’s because the Dallas Cowboys once again were beaten by a less-talented team in a game they were heavy favorites to win.

The month of November hasn’t been kind to the Dallas Cowboys. They have lost three of their past four games, a couple they were heavily favored in. There are a number of reasons as to why this has happened, but ultimately it comes down to poor play.

That was certainly the case in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Poor play was abundant in all three aspects of the game and ultimately led to them dropping to 7-4 on the season. Believe it or not though, there were a few highs as well.

With that in mind, let’s get to the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Week 12 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.

THE GOOD - Micah Parsons

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While both Tony Pollard and Trysten Hill deserve a shoutout for several impressive plays they made against the Las Vegas Raiders Thursday afternoon, they weren’t nearly as impactful as Micah Parsons was. Parsons continues to dominate as a pass rusher. He added yet another QB sack to his total, bringing him to nine on the season so far. He continually put pressure on Derek Carr the entire game, even though he was held without any penalty flags thrown on numerous occasions. He was arguably the biggest bright spot for the Dallas Cowboys in this Thanksgiving matchup.

THE BAD - Anthony Brown

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Don’t be surprised if fans around Cowboys Nation are calling for Anthony Brown to lose his starting job after his performance, or lack thereof, in the Week 12 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. If we were to point fingers as to who the main culprit was for the Cowboys loss this Thanksgiving matchup, Brown would find himself in the crosshairs. He was on the receiving end of four pass interference penalties called against him, making this without a doubt the worst game of his career.

THE UGLY - Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense

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An argument can be made the Cowboys offense wasn’t the same without Amari Cooper or CeeDee Lamb Thanksgiving day against the Las Vegas Raiders. But, if we were honest with ourselves, then we’d admit this unit has been off just about the entire month of November. The Cowboys are struggling offensively right now and it’s probably the biggest reason they’ve lost three out of the last four games. They did score 33 points in the game, but during the first three quarters, they just didn’t look good at all. They were rescued by a strong fourth quarter. This is simply unacceptable for a unit that is as talented as they are. They are much better than they have been playing as of late and because of that there is still hope they can turn things around sooner rather than later.