Cowboys' offense solid in preseason loss
OAKLAND, Calif. – Tony Romo and Co. showed that life without Terrell Owens can be an awful lot of fun.
The Dallas Cowboys dropped a 31-10 decision to the Oakland Raiders in the preseason opener for both teams Thursday night, but they returned to training camp in San Antonio feeling good about the performance of their first-team offense.
Without Owens around to demand the ball, Romo spread it around. He finished 4-of-6 for 36 yards, with the completions going to four different receivers.
Romo’s final pass went to Jason Witten for an 8-yard touchdown, capping a masterful seven-play, 71-yard drive that gave Dallas a 7-3 advantage with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
“I don’t think it means anything,” said Romo, who played two series before giving way to Jon Kitna. “If one guy caught six straight balls and then we scored, that’s fine, too. It’s just about whatever the defense allows us on that specific play.”
The TD drive made up for a three-and-out performance by the Cowboys on the game’s opening possession.
After Phillips pulled the starters after the first quarter, things fell apart for Dallas. There were missed tackles, blown coverages and penalties, lots of penalties. In all, the Cowboys were flagged 11 times for minus 109 yards.
“I thought our second groups were sloppy overall,” Phillips said. “We tried to play basic techniques and basic running plays and pass plays and we didn’t execute them all. Our second group and our young guys made a lot of mistakes.”
Felix Jones ran once for 14 yards and caught a 9-yard pass during the scoring drive, which lasted 4:49 and saw Dallas record six-straight first downs to gain a first and goal at the 3-yard line.
Two plays later, Marion Barber scored on a 2-yard plunge only to have it erased by left guard Kyle Kosier’s holding penalty.
The Cowboys answered that setback with a 3-yard gain by Barber and Romo’s pass to Witten. With his first options covered, Romo fired the ball to the far left side of the end zone, where the Pro Bowl tight end outfought cornerback Stanford Routt for the catch.
The scoring drive also included passes of 7 and 11 yards to Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams. There was also a 12-yard gain by Crayton on an end around.
It was the kind of offensive involvement Jerry Jones hoped to achieve when he released Owens in March. Still, Jerry Jones suggested offensive coordinator Jason Garrett just scratched the surface in terms of the different formations and plays the team will use this season.
“There is a lot more about the basics of what we are going to do offensively than what we saw in these couple of drives with our first group,” Jerry Jones said.
Felix Jones missed team drills Tuesday after experiencing stiffness in his surgically repaired left big toe. He missed 10 games as a rookie last season because of that injury and a hamstring problem.
“It felt fantastic,” Felix Jones said of being back on the field. “It was great. I’m happy to be back out there with my teammates and enjoying this.”
Jerry Jones also enjoyed it.
“It looks like the (defenders) are out of position when he’s got the ball,” Jerry Jones said. “When they are not, he’s just picking through them.”
Dallas also got a strong performance from wide receiver Sam Hurd. The Brackenridge graduate, who has been having an outstanding camp, caught five passes for 79 yards in the first half. His performance eclipsed that of Miles Austin, who went without a catch and dropped a pass in the first series that would have resulted in a long gain had he hung on.
“I think you see the benefit of how hard he works and what he’s accomplished in training camp,” Jones said of Hurd.
Said Phillips: “Sam Hurd played good with the second group. That’s encouraging for us. He’s earned more playing time.”
Defensively, the secondary struggled without starting cornerbacks Terence Newman (groin) and Mike Jenkins (ankle). Their replacements, Orlando Scandrick and Alan Ball, were solid, but Courtney Brown struggled throughout.
“I though Scandrick played well,” Phillips said. “He played man to man really well. Once we get those other guys back, I think we will be strong.”
The Cowboys came out of the game without any major injuries.
“It looked like we didn’t get many injured,” Phillips said. “But you can look at it the other way – we didn’t play hard enough to get any injuries.”
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