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NFL Power Rankings, Week 12: Cowboys come back to life, Saints march on

By Randy Gurzi

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 18: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after rushing for a first down against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 18: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after rushing for a first down against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 18: Eddy Pineiro #9 of the Oakland Raiders makes a catch in front of Leonard Johnson #27 of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Oakland Raiders won 23-21. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 18: Eddy Pineiro #9 of the Oakland Raiders makes a catch in front of Leonard Johnson #27 of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Oakland Raiders won 23-21. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

31. Oakland Raiders (32)

The Oakland Raiders can’t win — even win they do. On Sunday, they went out and got their second win of the season by beating the Arizona Cardinals. It was their first win of the season that wasn’t handed to them by the refs (yes, their first win shouldn’t have happened as the Browns had them beat before the officials stepped in). And it also allowed the Cardinals to jump ahead of them for the No. 1 overall pick next draft.

While fans will say the Raiders shouldn’t tank, the fact is they were trying to. They traded away Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. After that, they cut Bruce Irvin. There’s no reason to sell off all your talent unless your goal was to get better next season. Head coach Jon Gruden will never admit it, but that was his goal. After things went south, they were punting on this season and somehow couldn’t even get that right.

As far as their play on the field, this was a tough-fought win against the Cardinals. Derek Carr showed some flashes despite getting just 192 yards through the air and the ground game was impressive with 152 yards. Still, it was Arizona they won so they still need to look forward to next year.

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