Dallas facing a trap game following Week 10 bye

The Dallas Cowboys will come off their Week 10 bye and stare a trap game right in the face. Dallas travels to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders in the 11th week of the season.

Six days later they host the Philadelphia Eagles.

The danger for the Cowboys will be looking ahead to their division rivals. Four days later they host the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day.

If Dallas is thinking about back-to-back games against the two teams that played in the last Super Bowl, they will be in big trouble.

Who: Las Vegas Raiders
Where: at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Nov. 17th, 7:15 p.m. (CST)
How (to watch): ABC/ESPN

There are two very big reasons for the Cowboys to be nervous coming into this game.

The first is Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll. Carroll has a way of getting the most out of his team, no matter how young they are.

College superstar Ashton Jeanty would "love" to play for Cowboys

The second is rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

If the Cowboys’ run defense continues to struggle, Jeanty is going to make life miserable on Dallas.

All-Time Marks

This will be the first time the Cowboys have played the Raiders at Las Vegas. It’s only the second meeting between the two teams since the Raiders moved from Oakland.

Las Vegas, by virtue of a 36-33 overtime win on Thanksgiving Day in 2021, hold a 7-6 series edge over Dallas.

However, the Cowboys are 4-3 against the Raiders when the teams meet outside of Texas.

The last meeting in Oakland went to Dallas, 20-17, in 2017.

Dec 17, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) fumbles the ball out of the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to Week 11 contests, the Cowboys are 34-27-2 overall. They are 17-16-1 when those games are on the road.

This will be the eighth straight year that the Cowboys will be on the road in the 11^th week.

They are 5-2 in those games after losing to Houston last year.

The last home game for Dallas in Week 11 came in 2017. They lost to the Eagles that year.

This will also be the first time Dallas has faced off against the Raiders in the 1th week of the season.

Their most common opponents in Week 11 are the Cardinals (6-1) and Commanders (5-2).

The Prediction

This game just screams “IT’S A TRAP!” like Admiral Ackbar. And there’s your obligatory Star Wars reference for the 2025 season.

With that brutal six-game stretch that follows this one, the Cowboys are just begging to get caught looking ahead.

Prediction: Raiders 31, Cowboys 27 (Predicted record so far: 4-6)

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Richard Paolinelli

Richard Paolinelli is a sports journalist and author. In addition to his work at InsideTheStar.com, he has a Substack -- Dispatches From A SciFi Scribe – where he discusses numerous topics, including sports in general. He started his newspaper career in 1991 with the Gallup (NM) Independent before going to the Modesto (CA) Bee, Gustine (CA) Press-Standard, and Turlock (CA) Journal -- where he won the 2001 Best Sports Story, in the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. He then moved to the Merced (CA) Sun-Star, Tracy (CA) Press, Patch and finished his career in 2011 with the San Francisco (CA) Examiner. He has written two Non-Fiction sports books, 11 novels, and has over 30 published short stories.