Dallas Cowboys Oakland Raiders
Robert Blanton celebrates with his team after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Oakland Raiders 24-20 during a preseason game at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 26, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

This isn’t where either the Dallas Cowboys or Oakland Raiders expected to be entering Week 15 of the 2017 NFL season. The loser of the upcoming “Sunday Night Football” matchup will be all but officially eliminated from playoff contention.

There were plenty of preseason predictions that gave both teams a chance to make a run toward Super Bowl LII. The Cowboys are just a year removed from winning the NFC East and leading the conference in wins. After the Raiders won 12 games in 2016, they received more Super Bowl bets in Las Vegas than anyone, despite having pretty good championship odds.

Dallas is already out of the NFC East race, and even though they are just one game back of the Atlanta Falcons for the final wild-card spot, they are the NFC’s No.10 seed. Oakland is in a similar position in the AFC wild-card race as the No.9 seed, and they trail both the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers by a game in the AFC West.

The Raiders might have seen their chances of winning the division go out the window with a loss to the Chiefs in Week 14. It was their seventh loss in 11 games, and the Cowboys are considered to be a better team at this point in the season.

Even on the road without Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas is favored by three points Sunday, according to the betting odds at OddsShark. The game’s over/under is 46 points.

The Cowboys are on a two-game winning streak, though both victories have come against losing teams. Dallas has totaled 68 points the last two weeks after failing to score 10 points in any of the previous three games.

Left tackle Tyron Smith and linebacker Sean Lee have returned in recent weeks, giving Dallas at least some hope that they can make a late playoff run. Oakland could be without one of their top players after wide receiver Amari Cooper aggravated his ankle injury.

What was supposed to be one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses has been a major disappointment in 2017. After making two straight Pro Bowls, Cooper has fewer than 500 receiving yards with three games left on the schedule. Derek Carr is playing his worst football since he was a rookie, ranking 19th in passer rating and 20th in yards per attempt. Marshawn Lynch is 20th in rushing.

Dak Prescott isn’t the same quarterback without Elliott, but he can still make big plays when he’s got a good offensive line and running game. That’s been the case over the last two weeks with Alfred Morris and Rod Smith combining to rush for 263 yards.

Look for that to continue against a team that ranks 26th in opponents’ yards per play.

Prediction: Dallas over Oakland, 26-19

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