Darren McFadden Injury: Oakland Raiders RB will play this week
Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) rushes for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland Raiders 26-year-old running back Darren McFadden hasn’t played since Week 9 due to a hamstring injury, and it’s been a very disappointing season for the former Arkansas legend. McFadden has only had one good game this season, and he’s also averaged just 3.6 yards per carry this year. But McFadden will finally be back today to face the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez .
McFadden was always expected to make his return today, so the news that he is going to play doesn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s nice to have McFadden back, but he’s been Wally Pipp’d by backup Rashad Jennings, who has been terrific during McFadden’s absence. There is no doubt that Jennings deserves to start over McFadden, and Dennis Allen and the Raiders wisely agree that starting the “hot hand” the wisest policy. Jennings has been on fire over the past month, and it’s going to be interesting to see what he does today against the Cowboys.
There is no doubt that the Cowboys have the worst run defense in the league right now, because the stats back that logic up. The Cowboys have allowed about five yards per carry on the ground, and they were gashed last week by both Andre Brown and Brandon Jacobs. And with Sean Lee and Justin Durant set to miss another week, the Cowboys run defense continues to be in dire straits. McFadden has enough talent to be a factor, but he’s far too inconsistent. Today’s game will likely be ruled by Rashad Jennings on the ground, and there is no doubt that he deserves the majority of the workload.