In one corner of the visitors' locker room at opulent Cowboys Stadium on Thursday night, Gerard Warren muttered to no one in particular, but loud enough for all to hear.

In another crook, and a few minutes later, Bruce Gradkowski lamented lost opportunities for the gaggle of microphones and notepads thrust in his face.

"Rule No. 1, going back to Pop Warner football, is what?" Warren said, sighing.

Fellow defensive tackle William Joseph took a shot.

"See ball, get ball?" Joseph offered.

Warren paid him little mind.

"Stop the run," Warren said, his booming voice suddenly evaporating into a whisper.

Indeed, the Raiders' 24-7 Thanksgiving loss to the Cowboys in front of a national television audience showcased their inability to stop opposing runners. The Cowboys gashed Oakland for 195 yards, with Felix Jones (68), Tashard Choice (67) and Marion Barber (61) doing the damage. The Raiders allowed a season-high 7.8 yards per carry.

More troubling, though, was the Raiders' inability to limit big-gain plays. Call them "explosive plays," as Raiders coach Tom Cable does. Mark them down as "game breakers." Just make sure you mention Jones, Choice and Barber in the discussion.

While the passing game is supposed to garner huge chunks of yardage one play at a time, and the running game is supposed to wear down opponents while eating up the clock, Dallas did both.

Jones ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

Choice galloped 66 yards straight ahead out of the direct-snap Wildcat formation before he was caught from behind late in the first quarter.

And not only did Barber break loose for a 32-yard scamper midway through the fourth quarter, he had a 42-yard catch-and-run play from quarterback Tony Romo during the second.

The Raiders surrendered 384 yards on the Cowboys' 10 longest plays, four of which were just highlighted. Dallas' "explosive" running plays were backbreakers for the Raiders.

Really, the only thing for which Oakland could be thankful on Turkey Day was limiting the Cowboys to a 2.4-yard average on their other 46 snaps. Fool's gold, to be sure.

That's especially the case because Gradkowski was so sure the Raiders were so close, even if they did not cross the 50-yard line until less than nine minutes remained in the third quarter.

"The disappointing thing is we had plays out there to get (yardage) in chunks, and we just didn't connect," Gradkowski said. "We have to connect on those early in the game. We had plays to be made; we just didn't make them. And those are the plays we need to make, especially against a good football team."

The Raiders' two biggest yard gainers? Justin Fargas busted a first-quarter run for 22 yards. On a third-and-three play in the third quarter, Gradkowski found Zach Miller for a 28-yard gain during Oakland's lone scoring drive. At least they had more uses for Darren McFadden, lining him up wide as a receiver several times.

Otherwise, there was another alarming number of dropped passes, when Gradkowski wasn't making like JaMarcus Russell and entirely missing his receivers.

Cable pointed to the short work week and Gradkowski making just his second start.

"It's literally a foot here (or) a foot there from being a heck of a throw and a great completion," Cable said Friday. "So if you look at that, that's something that will just naturally get better and better."

The defensive lapses, he said, were simply a matter of missed communication or players not staying in their gaps. Again.

"But that's an exciting part of our team," Cable said, "because you can see it coming now."

So, too, though, can the Raiders see their next opponent – the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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