Tag: 2024 Preseason Week 1

Dominant Dallas defense can’t finish, Cowboys lose 13-12 to Rams

The Cowboys weren’t able to hold onto a late lead, falling in their exhibition opener. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys started to answer some of the questions posed to them over the course of the offseason. The opening preseason contest against the Los Angeles Rams was a bit disjointed, as expected, with each team keeping their best to the sideline in an effort to maintain health.

Both Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott stayed on the sidelines, allowing Stetson Bennett and Trey Lance, save for one series for Cooper Rush, handle the QB duties.Both offenses struggled, but the prowess of the Cowboys’ defensive depth showed up often, forcing four turnovers off of Bennett’s arm.

Lance’s offense could only convert those extra opportunities once, for three points, which allowed a game-winning drive with only four seconds remaining. The Cowboys defense couldn’t seal the deal and two penalties forced Dallas returns to Oxnard on the heels of a 13-12 defeat.

Dallas appeared to have their fifth interception of the game, but a defensive holding call gave the Rams renewed life. Later, a questionable personal foul on a tackle gave the Rams excellent field position and on fourth down, Bennett scrambled and found Miller Forinstall in the end zone for the win.

Finally getting back on the field after they way their 2023 ended in embarrassing fashion, the team was excited to get real action. Their opponent, the Rams were in a similar boat, keeping their primary playmakers in street clothes.

The backups couldn’t do much to move the ball, but the game still was able to elicit some intrigue and nervous moments.

The biggest takeaway from the game is going to be Lance’s performance, his first game snaps in a Cowboys uniform after last summer’s acquisition.

Lance finished the game 25 for 41 for 188 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He showed plenty of arm but very little touch and accuracy, with his completed passes rarely giving the receiver a chance for yards after the catch.

The club will return to Oxnard to get a couple of practices in before their second preseason action, Saturday night, against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Watch: Cowboys’ young DBs secure 2nd, 3rd INTs vs Rams

Dallas has three interceptions on the game, keeping things close despite offensive difficulties.

Go head and give assistant head coach Al Harris his flowers right now. Even when he’s forced to trot out a secondary under a brand new defensive coordinator and without his top three cornerbacks and top safeties, his troop is still all about that action.

The Dallas Cowboys were known as turnover machines under Dan Quinn, leading the league in forced turnover in both 2021 and 2022. While yes, it’s just the preseason and they were facing Stetson Bennett the entire game, but the secondary isn’t missing out on their opportunities. After Markquese Bell dropped a pick on the opening drive, he made up for it the next time out. Following that, the club had two more forced picks, letting the world know that mistakes will still be penalized under Mike Zimmer.

Eric Scott closed out the first half by picking off Bennett, keeping the Rams off the board and the score tied at six. UDFA rookie safety Julius Wood did similar, squashing a late third-quarter drive in similar fashion.

Scott had been having a rough game, but turned things around when he moved into the throwing lane undetected by Bennett.

Wood’s play was a bit more difficult, having to drive on the errant pass to force the turnover.

Dallas has been unable to capitalize on the three turnovers, however. Twice they turned it over on downs and the other time the half expiring on them.

 

Cowboys LT Chuma Edoga ruled out with foot injury

The sixth-year veteran went out in the first quarter and will not return.

The Cowboys have continued to list veteran journeyman Chuma Edoga as the starter at left tackle. This despite Dallas drafting Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton in the first round this past April and Guyton having a generally strong training camp. Edoga was part of Sunday’s starting lineup as well, but his time on the field didn’t last very long.

Edoga was out of the lineup rather quickly, replaced by Guyton, and word has come down why the swap. Edoga suffered a toe injury, and has since been ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Guyton is on track to start, but he wasn’t expected to play much on Sunday as he’s been dealing with an illness. He lasted one series before being taken out.

Entering his sixth season, Edoga was re-signed to a one-year deal this offseason after being brought in 2023 to backup Tyler Smith. Things didn’t go especially well in his six starts, so it was surprising to many that Dallas decided he would be the veteran of choice after letting Smith walk in free agency. Even more surprising was the continuation of him being ahead of Guyton on the depth chart, but Guyton will now get his chance to refuse to let go of the role.

 

LOOK: Cowboys safety Markquese Bell picks off Rams QB Stetson Bennett

The Cowboys’ safety must miss being penciled in as a starter, because he’s already making preseason plays.

The Dallas defense bent but didn’t break on their opening drive, keeping the Los Angeles Rams to three points in the exhibition opener. There were no such things on drive No. 2.

That’s because on 3rd-and-8 they didn’t allow a completion nor conversion. Instead they gave the ball back to their offense courtesy of safety Markquese Bell. Commonly thought to be No. 4 on the depth chart after spending most of the 2023 as a linebacker due to attrition, Bell announced that he should not be overlooked.

Rams QB Stetson Bennett overthrew his target, UT rookie Jordan Whittington, and Bell was well aware, reaching up to snag the ball out of the air for the interception.

Bell almost kept the Rams off the scoreboard on the first drive with an end zone interception he wasn’t able to bring in, but he had no such difficulty on this one, the first turnover of the young exhibition season.

WATCH: Rush connects with Brooks on bomb to open Cowboys’ preseason

The veteran backup helps the cause of the second-year wideout with a big play to start the game off.

The preseason has finally arrived and with it, Dallas Cowboys fans can finally move on from a tumultuous offseason. The Cowboys started off on defense in LA, but they stymied the Rams once they got into scoring position and held them to three points.

Cooper Rush got the start at quarterback with many starters sitting out the exhibition game, par for the course for Mike McCarthy’s guys. It didn’t take long for Rush to declare his competency, either. After back-to-back Rico Dowdle rushes gave an immediate new set of downs, Rush went to work and found second-year receiver Jalen Brooks on a deep throw.

Brooks is competing to be WR3 behind CeeDee Lamb (when he reports) and Brandin Cooks and has been electric thus far in training camp. Getting big plays in actual action will go a long way towards those goals.

All eyes on Trey Lance in Cowboys-Rams preseason matchup

Trey Lance has been underwhelming in training camp but he could alter that course with a standout performance in the Cowboys game against LA. | From @ReidDHanson

To many, NFL preseason games are just an extension of training camp. It’s a time for players to get in live action reps, coaches to test out new schemes, and teams to discover possible strengths and weaknesses of the roster.

To players like Trey Lance, the preseason is everything. The 24-year-old quarterback hasn’t played a game since last preseason. With San Francisco at the time, Lance played two preseason games last August, after which he lost the battle for QB2 and earned a trade to NFC rival Dallas in the process.

Lance, who’s only started four regular season games in the pros, needs all the live action he can get. For a former No. 3 overall draft pick, he has a ridiculously small amount of film to dissect. Even his college career was limited to a handful of games. The 2024 preseason may be Lance’s only chance to show the world what he can do before he hits free agency next March.

“Big game for me,” Lance said of the Rams game. “Big game for us so I’m excited to go out there and play well.”

Practices in Oxnard have been a mixed bag. Sometimes he delivers a dazzling highlight that reaffirms why he was a top pick three years ago. Other times he fires a ball off-target, ill-timed, and/or misread entirely. He’s shown all the qualities of an unreasoned QB extremely hungry for opportunities.

It was eight years ago against the Rams Dak Prescott provided his signature moment as an aspiring starter. Like Lance, Prescott wasn’t very dazzling or consistent in training camp, but when the lights came on and the preseason kicked off, Prescott rose to the occasion.

The hope is Lance can do something similar against the Rams this preseason. The Cowboys want Lance to succeed. They want their 2023 trade with the 49ers to pay off for them. They want him to push Cooper Rush for the primary back-up job. They basically want the same things Lance wants.

Based on practice reports and word out of LA, the Rams won’t be playing cornerbacks Tre’Davious White or Darious Williams so Lance should be going up against reserves and down-roster players most of the afternoon. Lance may not have CeeDee Lamb or Brandin Cooks to take full advantage of the situation, but he has plenty of capable receivers, most of which are embattled in a rather competitive WR competition. It’s an ideal situation for a QB searching for confidence.

Lance has a special opportunity in front of him to show he has NFL starting potential. Up until now he hasn’t looked the part. But gametime is showtime and what’s done under the bright lights of the preseason matter more than practices in camp. Can Lance rise to the occasion?

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