It has to drive 25-year old running back Tashard Choice nuts that he is currently third on the depth chart in Dallas at RB behind Marion Barber and Felix Jones as he would probably start for half of the teams in the NFL.  He has played in 11 games for the Cowboys this season and he has carried the ball 58 times for 330 yards (5.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 15 passes for 132 yards (8.8 avg) so far this year.  He has now played in 27 games in his two years in Dallas and he has carried the ball 150 times for 802 yards (5.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 36 passes for 317 yards (8.8 avg) in his time in Dallas.  It will be interesting to see what Dallas does when someone calls them on draft day next April about Choice.

The Cowboys looked like a determined bunch yesterday as they came out of the locker room swinging to start the game as they built a 17-0 lead at the half and then they cruised to victory in the 2nd half.  Tony Romo had a good game completing 18 of 29 passes for 309 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs while playing with a badly bruised back.  The Cowboys got all of their stable of running backs in on the action yesterday.  Felix Jones led the way for the Cowboys with 68 yards on 7 carries (9.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Tashard Choice only carried the ball three times but he still finished up with 67 yards (22.3 ypc) rushing.  Marion Barber also had a good game with 14 carries for 61 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 41 yards (20.5 avg).  Miles Austin had another great game for the Cowboys yesterday with 7 catches for 145 yards (20.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Jason Witten shook off an injury to pitch in with 5 catches for 107 yards (21.4 avg).  Roy Williams only caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) but one went for a TD.  The Cowboys finished up with 494 total yards in this game (195 rushing, 299 passing) on offense.

LB Keith Brooking led a solid Cowboys’ D yesterday with 9 tackles and 1 QB hit.  But, OLB Anthony Spencer was a monster in this game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits as he was playing like a man possessed.  The Raiders finished up with 305 yards on offense (124 rushing, 181 passing) in this game.  The Cowboys are now 8-3 on the year.

On paper this looks like a horrible match-up but games aren’t played on paper.  That was proven last week when the Raiders shocked the Bengals.  The Cowboys’ defensed has not been that great this season and the Raiders would like to exploit them on the ground.  Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden will all likely be testing the Cowboys on the ground as they are allowing 100.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Cowboys also are having problems at safety this season and the Raiders’ top receiver this season has been TE Zach Miller who could have a huge game tomorrow.  Bruce Gradkowski doesn’t have the strongest arm around but he is a solid game manager and that’s what the Raiders will be asking him to do tomorrow.

The Raiders have a solid secondary and Tony Romo has a badly bruised back so the Cowboys will likely run the ball more often than usual tomorrow.  The Raiders are allowing 157.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this season so look for Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice to all be effective.  The passing game will probaby be kept to shorter passes in a attempt to protect Romo.  That means that Jason Witten will probably be the target that Romo is targeting the most in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 20, RAIDERS 17

27-year old DeMarcus Ware is still by far the best player the Cowboys have to offer on defense.  He has played in all 10 games for the Cowboys this season and he has 39 tackles, 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and he has defensed 5 passes.  Look for him to be living in the Raiders’ backfield tomorrow afternoon.  He has now played in 74 games in 5 years with the Cowboys and he has 338 tackles, 60.5 sacks, 18 passes defensed, 20 forced fumbles and he also has a interception that he has returned for a TD.  Look for Ware to continue to dominate as he tries to will his team to get to the playoffs this season.

The Dallas Cowboys’ (7-3) offense was unimpressive for the second straight week, but they only needed one touchdown to beat the Washington Redskins (3-7) on Sunday.  Some of the struggles can be attributed to Tony Romo injuring his back early in the game.  Romo was in obvious pain after having to make a tackle on DeAngelo Hall, who recovered a Marion Barber fumble.  After that play, Romo was terrible and was missing his receivers over and over.  Marion Barber did a good job taking some of the pressure of Romo, rushing for 99 yards on 20 carries, but his fumble was costly since Romo injured his back on the play.  Romo came through when it mattered most though, when he found Patrick Crayton in the endzone to put the Cowboys up 7-6 with 2:41 to play.  Romo finished the game with 1 touchdown and 1 interception for 158 yards on 15/27 attempts.

The Cowboys defense did a good job keeping the Redskins out of the endzone, but they benefited from two missed field goals.  With very little production from the offense, the Cowboys would have lost the game had Redskins’ kicker Shaun Suisham not missed a 39-yard field goal attempt and a 50-yard field goal attempt.  They did not do a good job on third downs, letting Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell go 12-12 for 150 yards on 3rd downs.  They also let third string running back Rock Cartwright get 140 total yards on 13 carries and 7 catches.  They kept the Redskins out of the endzone though, and that is what you want out of your defense.  The Cowboys should be concerned about their offense and have only a few days to get the kinks out.  They play Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders.