NFL schedule release: 10 best games of 2017
By John Buhler
3. Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders
The Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders are two of the more iconic brands in the NFL. Obviously, Dallas has the biggest brand of any professional team in the United States. The Raiders brand is so strong that it can sustain the upcoming move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
These two teams will meet for the first time in four years and it will actually matter. Dallas and Oakland play in opposite conferences, so unless they meet in the preseason or the Super Bowl, these games every ‘Olympiad’ will have to suffice.
What makes this game so compelling is that both Dallas and Oakland should be playoff viable. Dallas hasn’t looked this good since the Jimmy Johnson Triplets era. Oakland had its first winning season since reaching the Super Bowl in 2002.
This feels like a lock to be a primetime affair, if not the late afternoon game on either CBS or FOX. Dallas and Oakland have two of the sport’s most passionate fan bases. They also have two explosive offenses. Having arguably the two best offensive lines in football will definitely play a factor in this game.
Add in that both teams’ secondaries are below-average and this could be a shootout in Oakland. Let’s just hope that the MLB’s Oakland Athletics aren’t playing in the 2017 World Series. If that is the case, we have to expect the infield of the coliseum to have a profound impact. Ezekiel Elliott winning the game in overtime on a 65-yard run in literally a cloud of dust. You heard it first here.