Cowboys loose to Raiders and end west coast early season tilt.
I suppose that if I knew the Cowboys would win 2 of the 3 early west coast games this year I would be fairly happy but for some reason, it doesn't feel as nice. I think its the way the Cowboys are winning and loosing games. Way too close for comfort especially against teams you would think the Cowboys are far superior than. I guess not.
Even though the Cowboys had a chance to pull yet another rabbit out of there hats and walk away with a victory, the football gods were not on their side this Sunday. The Raiders pushed the Cowboys around for the entire game and when push came to shove late in the game with the Cowboys set to steal yet another game, the Raiders pushed the Cowboys home with a loss.
The Cowboys inability to effectively run the ball is what ultimately decided this game.
3 times the Cowboys had a chance to score a touchdown in the red zone and 3 times they could not. The last being under 2 minutes with the ball inside the 5 yard line. argh.. just block somebody! ok.
Injuries; Julius missed some game time with an injury but is not expected to miss any practice or games.
Player of the Game; LB Bradie James led the Cowboys in tackles with 8. Bradie had his best game as a pro and was in on a lot of plays for a defense that played well enough to win the game.
Other players who deserve props; Julius Jones had a very workman like day, nothing special but some hard earned yards. Jason Witten is back in stride leading the team in catches.
Grades:
Offense - C; the inability to run the ball cost the Cowboys 3 touchdowns. 3 times the Cowboys had the ball inside the red zone primed for a touchdown but ended up kicking 2 field goals and going for the game winner on 4th down late but failing.
Defense - B-; other than the fact that Jordan gained a 100 yards and Randy Moss had a long catch this unit was very solid. They forced the Raiders into kicking 4 field goals, some from excellent field position, keeping the team in the game.
Special teams - C; The Raiders were able to get good field position on a couple of their scoring drives due to poor special teams. When the offense is not scoring a lot of points, the special teams needs to make up some points, not give up some points.
Did you notice? DeMarcus Ware had three offsides penalties, including one to wipe out a sack by La'Roi Glover in the fourth quarter.
Dallas had gone 13 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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3 |
3 |
7 |
13 |
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10 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
19 |
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Scoring Summary |
1st Quarter |
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FG |
Sebastian Janikowski 30 Yd, 7:22. Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards in 2:54. |
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TD |
LaMont Jordan, 2 Yd run (Sebastian Janikowski kick is good), 3:07. Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards in 2:38. |
2nd Quarter |
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FG |
Jose Cortez 29 Yd, 5:59. Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 6:32. |
3rd Quarter |
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FG |
Sebastian Janikowski 23 Yd, 8:15. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards in 6:45. |
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FG |
Jose Cortez 30 Yd, 1:05. Drive: 13 plays, 48 yards in 7:10. |
4th Quarter |
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FG |
Sebastian Janikowski 49 Yd, 10:25. Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards in 1:57. |
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TD |
Patrick Crayton, 63 Yd pass from Drew Bledsoe (Jose Cortez kick is good), 8:51. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards in 1:34. |
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FG |
Sebastian Janikowski 43 Yd, 4:29. Drive: 10 plays, 41 yards in 4:22. |
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Passing |
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CP/AT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
D. Bledsoe |
11/26 |
212 |
1 |
1 |
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Rushing |
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ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
J. Jones |
22 |
76 |
0 |
14 |
T. Thompson |
7 |
32 |
0 |
7 |
D. Bledsoe |
1 |
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0 |
3 |
M. Barber |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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Receiving |
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REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
T. Glenn |
5 |
137 |
0 |
57 |
P. Crayton |
1 |
63 |
1 |
63 |
J. Witten |
5 |
49 |
0 |
15 |
K. Johnson |
1 |
16 |
0 |
16 |
J. Jones |
1 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
T. Thompson |
1 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
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Fumbles |
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FUM |
LOST |
REC |
YDS |
none |
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Kicking |
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FG |
LG |
XP |
PTS |
J. Cortez |
2/2 |
30 |
1/1 |
7 |
Punting |
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NO |
AVG |
I20 |
LG |
M. McBriar |
5 |
44.8 |
1 |
56 |
Kickoff Returns |
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NO |
AVG |
TD |
LG |
T. Thompson |
1 |
22.0 |
0 |
22 |
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Punt Returns |
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NO |
AVG |
TD |
LG |
None |
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Defense |
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T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
R. Williams |
7-1 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
B. James |
6-2 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
C. Canty |
5-1 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
K. Davis |
5-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
A. Singleton |
4-2 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
J. Ferguson |
3-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
D. Ware |
3-0 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
K. Coleman |
2-2 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
L. Glover |
2-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
T. Newman |
2-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
J. Reeves |
2-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
S. Shanle |
2-2 |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
G. Ellis |
1-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
S. Fujita |
1-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
A. Henry |
1-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
D. Nguyen |
1-2 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
T. Thompson |
1-0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
J. Ratliff |
0-1 |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
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Next game; Sunday October 9th in Dallas against the Eagles, Terrell Owens and company. The Eagles have owned the Cowboys over the past few years and Terrell Owens lit the Cowboys up last year in Texas Stadium.
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