Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Winners, losers as Cowboys crush Raiders 33-16 on Monday Night Football

Winners, losers as Cowboys crush Raiders 33-16 on Monday Night Football originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Dallas Cowboys got the win for Marshawn Kneeland.

Dallas easily cruised past the Las Vegas Raiders on the road 33-16 on Monday Night Football to end Week 11.

It was an iffy start for Dallas after Maxx Crosby strip-sacked Dak Prescott early, but the Cowboys QB1 rebounded for a strong showing against a Raiders defense that shouldn’t have this many problems under Pete Carroll.

On the other side of the ball, Geno Smith didn’t offer anything different to what he’s shown throughout the season, while the run game continued to disappoint.

With the win, Dallas moved to 4-5-1 ahead of a key divisional home game against the reigning Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles. Las Vegas, meanwhile, is now 2-8 and once again will need to start looking ahead to next season.

Let’s analyze the prime time game further with winners and losers:

WINNER: Dak Prescott, Cowboys

Prescott is good for at least one mistake per game. Fortunately that came early this time against a beatable opponent.

The 32-year-old settled in from there and diced up Las Vegas’ defense, which rarely offered pushback besides the usual effort from Crosby.

Prescott ended the game throwing for four touchdowns and no picks with 268 passing yards on 25 of 33 completions. That should’ve been five scores had CeeDee Lamb not dropped a ‘gimme’ in the closing minutes. It’s the confidence boost Prescott needed as Philly’s defense will be a much different game.

LOSER: Ashton Jeanty, Raiders

At this stage it’s clear Smith is no longer QB1 quality, at least in the silver and black. But it was an even worse night for Las Vegas’ RB1.

Ashton Jeanty, coming off a Heisman-worthy campaign in college, struggled mightily. He had six carries for…seven yards. His long was 11, but holes rarely appeared behind an offensive line that has failed to protect the run and pass games throughout the year.

Drafting Jeanty wasn’t exactly a mistake, but not surrounding him, and Smith, with competent O-line play definitely is.

WINNER: George Pickens, Cowboys

Prescott will seize the headlines for his statistics in this one, but George Pickens showed off his potential. Both he and Lamb were benched for Dallas’ opening drive, but how Pickens in particular responded was extremely positive.

The 24-year-old wideout recorded nine catches on 11 targets for 144 yards and a score — including a 37-yard catch and run.

Breaking tackles and shining in the open field was Pickens’ forte against Vegas, but both he and Lamb will need to maintain the momentum next time out against a much better Eagles defense.

LOSER: Chip Kelly, Raiders

Carroll appears out of his depth after returning to the head-coaching scene. It doesn’t help that offensive coordinator Chip Kelly might be, too.

Kelly makes a reported $6 million a year and is one of the league’s best-paid coordinators, but Las Vegas ranks No. 31 in scoring and just never seems to have life on offense when it has the ball.

There are plenty of problems to nitpick within the Raiders organization, but overpaying players and staff past their prime for lackluster returns has been their theme of the season.

WINNER: Quinnen Williams, Cowboys

Sometimes overpaying for ready-now stars can make sense. Only time will tell how much Quinnen Williams impacts Dallas, but his first game suggested there could be good things to come (imagine him with Micah Parsons…).

The soon-to-be 28-year-old interior dominated Las Vegas’ O-line, logging 1.5 sacks, four tackles, five QB hits, seven pressures, one tackle for loss and a 21.4% pass-rush win rate, per PFF.

Dallas needs the margins to swing its way to somehow enter the playoffs, but whether it’s this season or future ones, Williams brings a fresh X-factor to the defense with Parsons out of the picture. It’s not the perfect swap, but it’s something to work with for head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Co.



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