NFL Thanksgiving Day Betting: Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys

NFL / Andy Richmond / 25 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

Tony Romo may struggle without Jason Witten

"The league’s fifth ranked offence has been shackled of late and the Cowboys will have to be at their best to overcome a stiff handicap here which reaches into double figures against a Raiders team which might just be finding its feet at long last."

The Cowboys are huge favourites to win this match but a misfiring offence will make scoring difficult, says Andy Richmond

The NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys must be wondering what's going on with their offence.

The Cowboys expect their banged-up QB Tony Romo to play on Thursday afternoon, but they could be without leading TE Jason Witten when they host the Oakland Raiders for the first time in 11 years. Dallas are 7-3 and have failed to score through the first three quarters of their last two games, losing 17-7 at Green Bay on November 15 and winning 7-6 over Washington on Sunday.

Witten is an integral part of the Dallas offence and in what will be a game time decision on Thursday; his presence will be sorely missed if his foot injury doesn't heal. The league's fifth ranked offence has been shackled of late and they'll have to be at their best to overcome a stiff handicap here which reaches into double figures against a Raiders team which might just be finding its feet at long last.

Perhaps some of that improvement was down to the re-introduction of QB Bruce Gradkowski's - in his first start as a Raider last week, Gradkowski orchestrated an outstanding two-minute drive to lead Oakland back against Cincinnati. Beating the Cowboys on Thanksgiving won't be easy, but Gradkowski seems to have inspired his teammates. While the emergence of Gradkowski leaves the Raiders with questions surrounding the future of former top overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell, coach Tom Cable has indicated he will worry about that later as he tries to give his team its best chance to win. That makes the Raiders dangerous to the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are making their annual appearance on Thanksgiving Day having played on that day every year since 1978, whilst the Raiders are making their first since 1970. The Cowboys have been stuttering of late and they may not get off to the quick start that they need to overcome this large handicap, especially if Whitten is absent as a Romo target.

Recommendation: Oakland keep it close - 1pt win Raiders +14.5 at [1.88] or better