Trivia Thursday: Dallas-Las Vegas rivalry answers
The answers for the Cowboys-Cardinals trivia questions leading up to Monday's Week 8 game.

1) Although this tight end's 16 seasons played (2003-17, 2019) with the Cowboys is tied for the most in franchise history, he finished his career with the Raiders.
Jason Witten still holds club records for career games played (255), starts (245), catches (1,215) and receiving yards (12,977), among several others, and is second in receiving touchdowns (72). The NFL's 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year, he was also an 11-time Pro Bowl player and earned two first-team All-Pro nods. Following a run with the Cowboys that will land him in the Ring of Honor and likely the Hall of Fame, Witten closed out his time in the NFL by playing a final season with the Raiders in 2020.

2) Which former Cowboys fullback was drafted in 1989 using a second-round pick acquired in a trade with the Raiders?
Dallas drafted guard Steve Wisniewski in the second round and promptly traded him and a sixth-round pick to the Raiders for LA's second, third and fifth rounders. Later in the second round, the Cowboys then drafted Daryl Johnston, one of the best fullbacks of his generation. He would go on to win three Super Bowls and twice earn Pro Bowl honors.

3) After seven seasons with the Raiders from 2008-14, which running back rushed for more than 1,000 yards during his first season in Dallas?
Signed as a free agent prior to the 2015 campaign, Darren McFadden's production went beyond expectations. He finished fourth in the league for rushing yards (1,089) and ninth in yards from scrimmage (1,417) during that season, the second and final time he eclipsed 1,000 yards in both statistical categories during his NFL career.

4) True or False: Miles Austin's 145 receiving yards in a 24-7 win over the Raiders on Nov. 26, 2009, was his career high.
False. Austin caught seven of the 11 passes thrown his way in the 24-7 Thanksgiving win for a team-leading 145 receiving yards, but that wasn't even his personal best for the 2009 season. He recorded 146 yards at Washington on Sept. 12, totaled 171 against Atlanta on Oct. 25 and posted a career-high 250 at Kansas City on Oct. 11.

5) This 1978 Cowboys draft pick eventually became a Pro Bowler for the Raiders after refusing Tom Landry's position change.
Todd Christensen, a fullback at BYU, was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1978 NFL Draft but suffered a broken foot in the preseason and missed his entire rookie campaign. The next year, Dallas wanted to move him to tight end, but after Christensen balked, the team eventually waived him. He went on to join the Raiders, where he became a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler … at tight end.

6) In a trade with the Raiders a week before the start of the 1991 season, the Cowboys acquired this backup quarterback, who went on to help the team reach the playoffs for the first time in six years.
Steve Beuerlein was a late addition to the squad, but he played an integral part in the Cowboys' success in 1991, leading Dallas to victory in the final five games of the regular season as well as the first round of the playoffs after Troy Aikman was injured. This 2025 campaign has been a Beuerlein reunion tour of sorts, as the Cowboys have faced four of the five other teams he played for during his NFL career: the Panthers, Broncos, Cardinals and Raiders.

7) During a 40-38 shootout loss to the Raiders on Oct. 23, 1983, which Cowboys player became one of only three running backs in team history to both throw a touchdown pass and run for a score in the same game?
This was a barnburner that saw the two teams combine for 55 points in the first two quarters, the most scored in a first half in Cowboys record books. And Ron Springs led the way with a 15-yard touchdown toss to quarterback Danny White in the first quarter before crossing the goal line himself on a 2-yard plunge in the second. In doing so, he joined Calvin Hill and Dan Reeves as the only running backs in team history to achieve both in the same game. Unfortunately, although Dallas stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter, the Raiders kicked a 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds left to win it.

8) True or false. The Raiders were the last of the 10 AFL teams the Cowboys played during the regular season following the merger with the NFL in 1970.
True. Though the two leagues merged in 1970, the Cowboys and Raiders didn't meet up until 1974. Dallas played the Chiefs and Oilers in 1970, the Bills, Patriots and Jets in 1971, the Chargers in 1972 and the Bengals and Broncos 1973. The Cowboys also faced the Dolphins for the first time in the regular season in 1973 but beat Miami in Super Bowl VI for the 1971 title. Despite rookie running back Doug Dennison (pictured) rushing for a career-high two touchdowns in the game, Dallas would fall to Oakland, 27-23, in the finale of its 1974 schedule.

9) On Oct. 25, 1992, in the only game ever played between the Cowboys and Raiders in Los Angeles, Emmitt Smith did this for the first time in his career.
Smith was the driving force in this one as he both ran for three touchdowns and topped 150 rushing yards (152) for the first time in his career to lead Dallas to a 28-13 victory over the Raiders in the LA Coliseum. He would go on to accomplish the feat only two other times on his road to the Hall of Fame, recording 163 yards and four touchdowns on Sept. 4, 1995 at the Giants, and 155 yards and three scores on Nov. 28, 1996 vs. Washington.

10) In the Cowboys' Thanksgiving matchup against the Raiders in 2021, Michael Gallup totaled 106 receiving yards. Which other Dallas wideout also topped 100 yards receiving in the game?
Cedrick Wilson joined Gallup in reaching the century mark with 104, one of only 37 times in team history that Dallas has had a least two players surpass 100 receiving yards. This was also the third time the Cowboys hosted the Raiders in their annual Turkey Day game – the first as the Las Vegas version – and it would turn out to be the third overtime affair the franchise has ever played on the holiday as well. Alas, the Cowboys eventually fell in the extra quarter, 36-33.

11) Wide Receiver Amari Cooper played in three-plus seasons each with the Raiders (2015-18) and Cowboys (2018-21). With which team did he score the most touchdowns?
Cooper was selected fourth overall by the Raiders in the 2015 draft but was later traded to Dallas six games into the 2018 season. Playing 56 games with the Cowboys and 52 in Oakland, he finished with 27 and 19 touchdown catches, respectively. His best year wearing the Star came in 2019 when he totaled 1,189 receiving yards with eight scoring grabs to earn one of his five career Pro Bowl invites.

12) Following in the footsteps of Emmitt Smith, this running back rushed for three touchdowns against the Raiders on Nov. 28, 2013, which was the 19th time in Cowboys history a player had posted three ground scores in a single game.
DeMarco Murray set a career high with three rushing scores in leading the Cowboys to a 31-24 victory over the Raiders. Three more have turned the trick since Murray did, marking 22 times in franchise history a Dallas player has run for at least three touchdowns in a single game.

13) In a Sunday night game at the Raiders on Dec. 17, 2017, which Cowboys safety tackled Oakland quarterback Derek Carr at the 1-yard line, forcing a fumble with 39 seconds left to secure a 20-17 win?
Dan Bailey had just kicked a 19-yard field goal to give Dallas the lead with 1:44 left in the game, but Carr and company came storming back to reach the Cowboys' 8-yard line with 39 seconds remaining. However, on a scramble around the right end, the quarterback tried to reach the ball over the goal line, only to have a diving Jeff Heath knock him out of bounds. In the process, Carr fumbled and the ball bounced through the end zone and out of bounds for a touchback, preserving the Dallas victory.

14) Also in that same game, what did referee Gene Steratore use to determine a first down with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter?
The Cowboys made the risky decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 39-yard line, but when quarterback Dak Prescott plunged into a pile of players, the chains were brought out to determine if he'd gained the needed yardage. However, the measurement was so close that Steratore, who is now a rules analyst for CBS, pulled out an index card to see if he could slide it between the nose of the ball and the end of the chain. When he couldn't, a first down was awarded, and Dallas went on to eventually kick the game-winning field goal.

15) In the Cowboys' first victory over the Raiders, played on Dec. 7, 1980, Tony Dorsett set this NFL record.
With his 97 rushing yards in the Cowboys' 19-13 win over Oakland, Dorsett became the first player in NFL history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first four seasons. He went on to top the 1,000-yard mark in his first five campaigns and in eight of his first nine years with the lone exception coming during the 1982 season, which was shortened due to a strike. To this day, the Pro Football Hall of Famer is still the only player in franchise history and is one of just 14 in NFL record books to earn 1,000 rushing yards in his first four campaigns.

16) In Deion Sanders' second game with the Cowboys in 1995, he recorded his first interception for his new team but leaping over what Raiders receiver? More than just a cover corner, Deion Sanders had elite ball skills, which is why he started as a two-way player in 1996 at both receiver and corner. But in his second game with the Cowboys, Sanders showed off those receiving skills when he outjumped Rocket Ismail for a deep pass and turned it into his first interception with the Cowboys. Sanders and Ismail, two of the fastest players in the NFL at the time, became teammates for one season in Dallas in 1999.

17) What former Raiders Pro Bowler was actually drafted by the Cowboys in 1989 but never played in Dallas? The Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman with the No. 1 pick in 1989 but the next pick was actually guard Steve Wisneiwski. But he didn't last long with the organization, getting traded away instantly to the Raiders in exchange for more picks, which turned into Daryl Johnston. Wisneiwski was a seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.

ÃÛÌÒTV running back Felix Jones (28) runs for a touchdown as Oakland Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson (37) is unable to make the tackle in an NFL football game, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Erich Schlegel)

19) What current Cowboys player spent the first five seasons of his career with the Raiders organization?
Deep snapper Trent Sieg joined the Cowboys in 2023 and is currently in his third season with the team. But from 2018-2022 he was the snapper for the Raiders, starting his career in Oakland.

20) In 13 career meetings between the Cowboys and Raiders, who scored the longest touchdown from either team?
Tony Pollard returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the 2021 Thanksgiving Day game with the Raiders for the longest score of any kind in this series.



