The Raiders playoff hopes were pretty slim going into Sunday against an Ezekiel Elliott-less Cowboys team. Aside from having to squad up against Dallas, it kind of felt like we were playing against the referees too. Oakland fought to the end but lost 17-20 in a game they should have pulled away with.

Oakland Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys

A really suspect Offensive Pass Interference call against Jared Cook brought a touchdown back and that was a huge momentum changer for both sides.

A Cowboys’ first down was given based on a FOLDED INDEX CARD that still appeared to show the ball had not reached the marker. Why do we have human referees? An index card? Okay.

Then the icing on the cake: the referees pulled Michael Crabtree out for concussion protocol on the last play that turned into an Oakland fumble through the end zone and set up Dan Bailey’s go-ahead 19-yard field goal with 31 seconds left to give the Cowboys the W.

Yeah, Derek Carr should have managed the ball a little bit better instead of being a hero, but it was more than just his fumble that caused Oakland’s playoff hopes to disappear.

The win extended the Cowboys winning streak to three games and their playoffs hopes are still alive and kicking, while ours are as thin as the index card they used on the controversial first down measurement.

Oakland Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles

This week we head to Philly where they once booed Santa (savages) and have a 12-2 record – even with Nick Foles at QB, it doesn’t exactly feel like the warmest welcome. The Eagles are one game up on Minnesota for NFC home-field advantage and desperately need to figure out their offensive timing after losing Carson Wentz for the season — so don’t expect them to let up cause the clinched the NFC East.

Foles might not be a household name right now, but don’t forget he went for 27 touchdowns and 2 picks in 2013 for the Eagles – he can definitely make it rain in the right system and with the right momentum.

The Eagles defense has not been the same the past three weeks and their coach Doug Peterson has already told the team, and even media, that you can’t play defense like this and expect to win.

Game Prediction

Let’s hope for a win this weekend. All I want for Christmas is to end it on a good note, on a high note, and not on an index card. I wish you all happy holidays and to all a great year :).

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Photo Credits:

• Oakland Raiders on Wikimedia Commons by Oakland Raiders
• Ezekiel Elliott on Wikimedia Commons by Keith Allison
• Cowboys on Wikimedia Commons by Dallas Cowboys
• Michael Crabtree on Wikipedia by Keith Allison
• Derek Carr on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
• Eagles Stadium on Wikimedia by Groupe Canam
• Note Card on Wikimedia by E.M Fields
• Nick Foles on Wikimedia Commons by Matthew Straubmuller
• Eagles on Wikimedia Commons by Philadelphia Eagles
• Minnesota Vikings on Wikimedia Commons by Minnesota Vikings
• Carson Wentz on flickr by Keith Allison
• Doug Pederson on Wikimedia Commons by Teed Johnson