3 things to watch in Raiders-Cowboys ‘MNF’ clash

The Raiders will try to snap a three-game losing streak Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium.

But it won’t be easy against a Cowboys team featuring one of the best offenses in the NFL.

The Raiders (2-7) will simultaneously have to slow down the Cowboys’ (3-5-1) prolific attack while also taking advantage of a Dallas defense that ranks among the league’s worst in most pertinent statistics.

Here are three things to keep an eye on:

1. Who starts on the offensive line?

With Jackson Powers-Johnson likely out for the year with a left ankle injury, the Raiders have a decision to make on how to handle the backup plan. Alex Cappa is next man up on the depth chart, but the Raiders also opened the door for rookie Caleb Rogers to compete for playing time last week in practice.

Ideally, Rogers showed enough in practice to warrant the start. On the surface, it seems like an easy decision. The third-round pick from Texas Tech represents the potential future at guard, so why not use the injury to Powers-Johnson as a chance to gauge Rogers’ progress and viability.

It’s a bit more complicated than that, though, which is why part of this is on Rogers showing the Raiders he is ready. Are they confident he can successfully protect quarterback Geno Smith and running back Ashton Jeanty? Does he know the protection calls, the checks, the audibles?

Rogers is a promising prospect with loads of potential and physical traits. But the offense he ran at Texas Tech is quite different than the far more detailed scheme the Raiders run. It’s the same transition challenge most college offensive linemen face when entering the NFL.

“It’s not that they can’t do it, it’s just they haven’t been exposed to it enough where they got the experience at it,” Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “So it’s an ongoing process, and it’s just part of the business.”

2. More action for rookie wide receivers?

Raiders coach Pete Carroll suggested this week the training wheels might be coming off rookie wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton.

Bech, a second-round pick from TCU, has seven catches on 11 targets through nine games this year. Thornton, a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee, has six catches on 21 targets for 98 yards.

Both committed costly mistakes last week in a 10-7 loss to the Broncos, a sign that the two rookies are still very much in the development stage. Bech got flagged for a holding call to negate a 32-yard run by Jeanty, and Thornton got flagged for offensive pass interference to wipe out Tre Tucker’s 31-yard touchdown reception. Thornton also dropped a catchable pass from Smith to ruin what would have been a long gain to put the Raiders in field goal position.

The growing pains were inevitable. But as the Raiders prepare to play their last eight games, Carroll wants to see more progress.

“This is where we turn the corner for the second half, and I’ve already mentioned that to those guys, that this is where we count on them to come through and be cleaner with their assignments and sharper and just on it better than they’ve been earlier,” said Carroll. “And hopefully, that’s what we’ll see down the stretch.”

That sounds a lot like the Raiders want to get Thornton and Bech more involved in the offense.

3. Can the defense slow down the Cowboys?

The Raiders’ defense played admirably last Thursday by holding the Broncos to just 10 points. It didn’t result in a win, but it felt like a step in the right direction for the defense.

Or was it?

That is a fair question, given how poorly Broncos quarterback Bo Nix played and how it contributed to Denver’s sluggish outing.

Don’t expect those kinds of struggles from Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who is putting up top-10 caliber quarterback play while overseeing the NFL’s fourth-best scoring offense at 29.2 points per game.

As a result, this will be a much bigger test for the Raiders defense, which can ill-afford to put the offense in a position of having to compete in a high-scoring track meet.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal. com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.