ARLINGTON, Texas – This one will go down as one of the more memorable games on Thanksgiving Day, but not exactly for the right reasons.
It was a flag-fest for the most part, although there were some huge plays that happened for both teams. But there are always a few plays that might be overlooked that played a big factor in the outcome.
Here are a handful from the Raiders' 36-33 overtime win over the Cowboys.
Fumble overturned in first – Trailing 7-6 in the first quarter, the Cowboys appeared to make a couple of great plays when safety Jayron Kearse stripped the ball away from Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller, forcing a fumble that linebacker Keanu Neal tossed back into the field of play and into the hands of Kearse, who returned it to the Raiders' 40-yard line. But then the officials came back and said the call on the field was an incomplete pass to Waller, and the Cowboys chose not to review it since the call had already been looked at upstairs. So the Raiders kept the ball and had to punt, pinning the Cowboys back at their own 7-yard line, a difference in nearly 60 yards of field position.
Brown's double PI calls on one drive – Late in the first quarter, the Raiders were near midfield facing a third-and-10 when cornerback Anthony Brown was flagged for a questionable pass interference penalty near the Cowboys sideline. That extended the drive and the Raiders eventually got a bigger break later in their possession when Brown was flagged again for another PI, this time for 30 yards to the Cowboys' 1, leading to a touchdown on the next play.
Tyron penalty wipes out TD – For the most part, the return of left tackle Tyron Smith likely helped the offensive line, considering he's one of the best left tackles in football. But he had a critical holding call in the fourth quarter to wipe out a touchdown by tight end Dalton Schultz that could've tied the game, depending on the ensuing 2-point conversion. But the holding call pushed the ball back to third-and-13 from the 17-yard line and the Cowboys settled for a short pass to kick a field goal, trimming the lead to 27-22.
Big Play by Jackson … again – Something about wide receiver DeSean Jackson. No matter what team he's playing for, he always hurts the Cowboys with a big play. He had a long touchdown on the Raiders' third play back in the first quarter, but his 30-yard catch on first down late in the fourth was huge. The Cowboys had just tied the game, 30-30, with 2:54 left and had all the momentum, but Jackson got loose for 30 yards to give the Raiders a chance to go kick a field goal and take the lead. Without that play, perhaps the Cowboys can get off the field and go score to get the win, but leave it to Jackson to make another big play.
Illegal block on the kickoff return – The Cowboys got a huge play in the third quarter when Tony Pollard returned a kickoff 100 yards, but ironically it was the same unit that led to a big play against them that proved costly. In overtime, the Cowboys got the kickoff, which went to the 2-yard line instead of the many other touchbacks that occurred. Pollard fielded the ball and only got to the 13, but an illegal block on Luke Gifford pushed them back to the 7-yard line. The Cowboys were pinned back and didn't seem that aggressive with the play-calling and eventually punted to the Raiders, who were able to take the ball and drive for the winning field goal.
