Cowboys vs. Raiders 2017 live results: Score updates and highlights from ‘Sunday Night Football’

A pair of teams with fledgling playoff hopes met in Oakland, with the Cowboys escaping with a win over the Raiders by the closest of margins, 20-17.

Cowboys 20, Raiders 17: Oakland was in field goal range in the final minute, but Derek Carr had designs on a go-ahead touchdown. But at the end of this run Carr tried to dive for the score but instead fumbled out of the end zone for a crushing, game-ending touchback.

Cowboys 20, Raiders 17: Dan Bailey kicked a go-ahead field goal for the Cowboys with 1:44 remaining, a drive kept alive when Dallas converted a crucial third down by the thinnest of margins!

Raiders 17, Cowboys 17: Michael Crabtree caught his second touchdown of the night to tie the game for Oakland.

Cowboys 17, Raiders 10: So you’re telling me there’s a chance for Oakland?

Cowboys 17, Raiders 10: Dallas stormed right back to re-take the lead, thanks in large part to this beautiful fake punt by Dallas, 24-yard run by Chris Jones on 4th-&-11.

Raiders 10, Cowboys 10: Oakland is gaining momentum, with a game-tying field goal after Sean Smith’s second interception of the game. But instead of grabbing their first lead of the game, Smith’s pick-six return was called back when he was ruled down by contact at the 22-yard line, barely touched by Cole Beasley.

Cowboys 10, Raiders 7: Oakland shook off the cobwebs on offense to open the second half. After a 100-yard kickoff return by Cordarelle Patterson was called back on a holding penalty, the Raiders found their way into the end zone the more conventional way. Big plays were the name of the game on this drive, including a 19-yard run to set up a 2-yard touchdown catch by Michael Crabtree. But the big play was this 32-yard scramble by quarterback Derek Carr to put the Raiders in prime scoring position:

Cowboys 10, Raiders 0: Raiders lineman Donald Penn, who left the game in the first quarter, was ruled out for the rest of the game with a foot injury.

Cowboys 10, Raiders 3: The Oakland offense finally showed signs of life with a 49-yard drive, but they had two scoring chances fall by the wayside. First came this touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook, only to have the TD nullified by offensive pass interference.

Two plays later Giorgio Tavecchio pushed a 39-yard field goal try wide left, keping the Raiders off the scoreboard. Oakland had just 105 yards in the first half.

Cowboys 10, Raiders 0: The Raiders’ offense has been hard to watch so far, with one first down and five penalties in the first 18 minutes of the game. It is dinner time in Oakland, but I can’t imagine anyone has an appetite after seeing this mess. Then again...

Cowboys 10, Raiders 0: One day before the expected return of Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys are running the ball at will in Oakland. Dallas has 62 yards on 13 carries so far. Only one of those yards came from Rod Smith, but it was a touchdown plunge to widen the Cowboys’ advantage. Smith has a touchdown in four consecutive games.

Dallas dominated the first quarter even if the scoreboard doesn’t quite show it yet. The Cowboys outgained the Raiders 148 yards to seven, and Dallas gained nine first downs in the opening quarter while Oakland went 3-and-out twice.

Cowboys 3, Raiders 0: Raiders left tackle Donald Penn, playing in his 174th straight game on Sunday night, left the game with an apparent foot injury. Penn writhed around in pain on the ground after guard Kelechi Osemele landed on his right foot during a running play. Penn was taken for X-rays.

Cowboys 3, Raiders 0: Dallas was able to withstand the interception by forcing Oakland into a 3-and-out, then the Cowboys immediately began moving the ball again on offense. Alfred Morris is having a fine first quarter with 51 yards on seven carries, including 25 yards on this drive that resulted in a 45-yard field goal by Dan Bailey for the game’s first score.

Raiders 0, Cowboys 0: Dallas was marching efficiently down the field on the game’s opening drive, until Dak Prescott absolutely gift-wrapped this turnover the Sean Smith:

It was Oakland’s third interception this season. As a team. Sunday is the Raiders’ 14th game

The Dallas Cowboys are still hanging around the playoff picture, but they’ll have no margin for error when they go on the road to face the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night. The game kicks at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC (live streams at NBC Sports and FuboTV).

At 7-6, the Cowboys remain a step behind the other contenders in the NFC Wild Card race, but they’re a sneaky, talented team that could end up being dangerous when Ezekiel Elliott returns from suspension next week. They’re also getting healthy at the right time, with left tackle Tyron Smith and linebacker Sean Lee back from injuries.

Smith’s return in particular has been a huge boost to an offense that briefly lost its way without Elliott. With him back on the blind side, Dak Prescott stabilized his production and Alfred Morris and Rod Smith became a decent running back duo. The Cowboys are riding a two-game win streak, having dispatched Washington and the New York Giants without much trouble.

Meanwhile, the Raiders slipped to 6-7 and their playoff hopes are on the rocks after a listless performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. Derek Carr continued his disappointing season, throwing for just 211 yards and two interceptions in a 26-15 loss. Carr entered the season with some MVP hype, but has looked ordinary way too many times. In 12 games, he has an uninspiring 18-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while averaging 7.0 yards per attempt.

If Carr hasn’t quite lived up to the hype, then Amari Cooper has been a straight nightmare. Widely expected to take a leap forward in his third season, Cooper’s numbers have cratered as he turned into a drop machine. He has only one 100-yard game all the year, that Week 7 210-yard explosion against the Chiefs. Naturally, Cooper suffered an ankle injury in last week’s rematch and has been ruled out for Sunday night.

Disappointment has been a running theme for the Raiders this year. After going 12-4 and ending their playoff drought last season, they’ve fallen back into mediocrity and are in real danger of sitting home in January. Beating the Cowboys is probably their last realistic chance to keep the season alive.

I predicted that both quarterbacks would have an easy rehab and get back on the field to start training camp. They are both young and athletic, and that should speed up the healing process. And in fact, both quarterbacks were ready to go for camp.

But there’s a common misconception that when athletes are rehabbing, they are also training at 100 percent. While the training sessions are 100 percent of what you’re able to do at that moment, the point of rehab is trying to get that affected body part back to where it was so you’re able to fully train like usual.

Even if the Raiders were to win out the season, their hopes of the playoffs are barely above 50%. And their odds of winning out the season and making the playoff are in the single digits. Add that the Raiders are better off with a fully healthy group of receivers who are legitimate deep threats and there’s no conceivable reason to try to force Coop on the field for one of their final two games.

Note that without Elliott the Cowboys still average 120 rushing yards per game. That would translate to 1,565 across 13 games which would rank ninth in the NFL. That’s because, as many predicted, the combination of Alfred Morris, Rod Smith and the Cowboys’ outstanding offensive line is still an effective unit. Alfred Morris and Rod Smith are good running backs and thus even without Elliott the running game is still productive.

But it’s not elite. And the poor results we see above (25% declines in points and yards) is the difference between good and elite.