Pick Six: Getting the ball to ‘number one threat’ Brock Bowers will be pivotal in primetime game

Cutting it loose on Dallas

Even with the offensive inconsistencies the Raiders have endured, Geno Smith has a good chance light up the Cowboys in front of a national audience.

While the Cowboys made some moves to bolster their defense as mentioned, the team has struggled against the pass all season. They’ve allowed the second most passing touchdowns (22), the fifth-highest completion percentage (68.5) and seventh-most passing yards (2,290) to opposing offenses. Additionally, they’ve allowed the second-most yards per attempt on downfield passes this season (13.4), per Next Gen Stats.

While Smith has struggled throwing the ball down the field, that was his forte before arriving to the Silver and Black. In 2024, he had a 98.6 passer rating with eight touchdowns on passes over 20 air yards. This season, it’s dropped down to a 75.3 passer rating with a 2:2 touchdown to interception ratio.

With that in mind, now might be a good time for Smith to test the waters against the Cowboys secondary.

“I’ve got to cut it loose, man. Just don’t think too much,” Smith said. “Just go out there and cut it loose, play your game. Protect the football first and foremost. The last eight games of the season, I want to be the best in the league in terms of protecting the football. I mean, that’s really what it is, and then just cut it loose, man. We’ve got to score points. We’ve got to score a lot more points than we have. We’ve got to pick it up.