Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Las Vegas Raiders

Report: Peanut allergy caused Mazi Smith’s severe reaction, forced him to miss Cowboys’ preseason game

From @ToddBrock24f7: Smith was on the team bus, about to head for the airport, when he suffered a severe allergic reaction that sent him to the hospital instead.

It can be the smallest of things.

Defensive tackle Mazi Smith didn’t play in Saturday night’s preseason matchup against the Raiders. In fact, he didn’t even make the trip to Las Vegas, as an allergic reaction suffered on Friday kept last year’s first-round draft pick from traveling with the team at all.

Now some details of the episode have come to light, revealing that the 6-foot-3-inch, 328-pounder was frighteningly sidelined by the same common food allergy that affects 1-2% of the U.S. population.

According to an X post Monday by Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who cited a source, Smith has a peanut allergy. A severe reaction he suffered while on the team bus- before it departed for the airport for the flight to Las Vegas- forced Smith’s emergency exit and sent him to the hospital.

Smith was re-evaluated Saturday morning and officially ruled out of that night’s game.

Saturday night after the win, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters of Smith, “He’s doing much better today than he was yesterday. … Those things are always serious when you have an allergic reaction like that.”

The incident unfortunately cost Smith valuable game reps against many of the Raiders’ first-stringers during the teams’ second preseason contest, which the Cowboys won by a 27-12 final score.

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Friday’s late-breaking development did give newly-acquired DT Jordan Phillips an opportunity to play perhaps a few extra snaps, although McCarthy explained that the plan was always to give the ex-Giant his first official game action since joining the club last Wednesday. Rookie seventh-round draft pick Justin Rogers also got some additional playing time with Smith out.

Smith reportedly felt much better by Monday and was scheduled to take part in the day’s practice session. The Cowboys travel back to the Metroplex this week and will face the Chargers at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in their 2024 preseason finale.

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Deuce Vaughn wanted to ‘showcase what I can do’ vs Raiders; was it enough to make Cowboys roster?

From @ToddBrock24f7: After a disappointing rookie season and a training camp hamstring injury, the shifty RB showed surprising power in his preseason debut.

Deuce Vaughn’s hamstring cost him two weeks of training camp and the preseason opener. Not ideal for a 22-year-old who can’t be at all sure he’s going to make the Cowboys’ 53-man regular-season roster.

Healed in time to take the field in Las Vegas, Vaughn sought to make the most of whatever hand he was dealt. He ended the night with just 34 yards on five carries, but he certainly showed enough to boost his stock heading into the final week and a half before cut day.

“I wanted to come out here and show what I could do,” Vaughn told reporters Saturday night following the team’s 27-12 exhibition win over the Raiders.

It was an obvious improvement over Vaughn’s showing as a rookie. Expected to be an electrifying change-of-pace backfield option in 2023, Vaughn struggled to put up numbers. He logged 20 carries over the Cowboys’ first five games but totaled only 40 yards. Over the next 13 games (playoffs included), he got just three more handoffs, netting zero yards. He was inactive for nine full contests and didn’t get on the field in two others.

Doubters immediately wrote him off as a bust, too small to be anything more than a novelty in the NFL. But his production Saturday, in his first preseason action, suggested otherwise.

Even more encouraging than his 6.8 yards-per-carry average was that they didn’t all come on some shifty splash play that depended on the 5-foot-5 Vaughn getting lost behind the offensive line and then turning on the afterburners.

In addition to displaying the speed and elusiveness that made him a camp darling last year, the 22-year-old also got to introduce some power to his game, something he says he’s put serious effort into developing.

“Kind of a testament to all the work I’ve out in over this offseason,” Vaughn explained, “because one of the biggest things I wanted to do was get a little bit bigger, get a little bit stronger in between the tackles, because in this league, that’s where the hay is made- those four-yard runs, those five-yard runs that are a little bit powerful- and be able to put your offense in a better situation on second and third down.”

His head coach noticed.

“I thought Deuce had some nice touches,” Mike McCarthy said from the podium at Allegiant Stadium after the Cowboys win. “Really, him, Royce, and Malik: you know, I was trying to get those guys all a certain number of carries tonight; it was a focus. I thought he ran well, broke tackles, bounced the ball [outside], made some nice runs.”

Those other backs McCarthy named are Vaughn’s top competition for a 2024 roster spot. Ezekiel Elliott and Rice Dowdle are locks; neither played at all on Saturday. But Royce Freeman led all Dallas backs with seven carries, while Malik Davis matched Vaughn’s five attempts. And while any of them could conceivably be RB3, it’s unlikely that the team keeps all of them.

So Vaughn knows that every rep he gets is a statement- not only for the Dallas coaching staff, but maybe also for the other 31 teams in the league.

“The good thing is we don’t have to make any decisions now,”McCarthy said. “I mean, we do have another full week left. We knew this coming in with our roster, that we’ve got some tough decisions when we get down to the end.”

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To his credit, Vaughn sounded like someone who is well aware that the sentimentality that came with his emotional draft-day phone call last year in no way guarantees his spot in the locker room this year. And while he chooses not think of it as a camp battle, Vaughn- perhaps thanks to growing up with his father Chris serving as a Cowboys scout- understands that today’s teammates can become ex-teammates in the blink of an eye.

So it’s about being his best self, not beating out the guy next to him.

“I feel like for myself, it’s more important to just go out there and showcase what I can do. We have a great running back room. Every single one of those guys inside this room has a great skill set. I’ve learned a whole bunch from guys inside this locker room, the experience that we have. And for myself, it’s coming out here, it’s more like the foundation for myself to get back to … playing and getting ready for next week.”

One more week of camp, then a preseason game versus the Chargers. Vaughn hopes that doesn’t mark the end of the Cowboys chapter of his story. But he’s going to make sure that whatever happens, he’s improving every step of the way.

“Hoping to have some opportunity to show off some pass protection and stuff like that going into this next week, just showing up all the question marks that were given to me coming into this offseason,” said Vaughn. “The hard work that I put in to be able to showcase what I can do is what I want to shore up on going into this last week.”

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QB Trey Lance bounced back in a big way to lead Cowboys to win

Lance bounced back after a rough outing to lead the Cowboys to a convincing victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. | From @timlettiero

Who doesn’t love some late-night football? Continuing with their west coast theme, Dallas took on the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 of the 2024 preseason on Saturday night. The Cowboys continued to imposed their will on the defensive side of the ball, but the offense joined the party this week.

Once again Dallas went with the two-QB approach with Cooper Rush getting the start before handing the reigns to Trey Lance. Rush was only given a few pass attempts before Lance got his number called, which might just become the story of who took the QB2 job.

After failing to reach the end zone against the Rams, Lance orchestrated two touchdown drives in throwing for 151 yards with a 98.3 rating and rushing for 36 more. The performance earns him Cowboys Wire’s Player of the Game honor.

Lance started off slow with back to back three-and-out drives. It was reminiscent to how thigns went in Week 1 against the Rams with several bullet passes badly missing their mark.

Midway through the second quarter, though, he settled in and orchestrated a drive capped off by a beautiful touch pass to rookie WR Ryan Flournoy in the corner of the end zone.

On the following drive, he ushered the Cowboy offense 38 yards in only 25 seconds to set up a career long and faux-NFL-record tying 66-yard field goal attempt for K Brandon Aubrey. Surprisng no one, Aubrey nailed it with yards to spare.

Similar to the first half, Lance start off slow returning from the locker room. Dallas struggled to get the ball moving before Lance put on a show with his arm and legs to bring the Cowboy lead to 27-12, where it would finish.

 

Lance had a few purple patches but settled down at the end of both halves to deliver two clutch, touchdown-scoring drives. His accuracy and comfort levels seemed to take a massive step forward. It was not a perfect performance by any means but certainly one he can build on going forward with more snaps.

NFL Preseason Recap: Cowboys’ defense stellar again, Trey Lance steadies to beat Raiders 27-12

Dallas’ offense made strong improvements over Week 1, most notably Trey Lance as the team evened their exhibition record with the win. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys did a lot right on defense last week, despite giving up a game-winning drive at the end. Mike Zimmer, coaching his first game in Dallas since the early 2000s, saw his backup defenders convert on four errant Stetson Bennett passes and turn them into interceptions. Dallas’ offense, mostly led by Trey Lance, was only able to turn them into 3 points.

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, the Dallas defense was only able to corral one, but they didn’t rely on the offense. Kemon Hall, signed off waivers from the 49ers roster at the start of camp, took his nice pick 69 yards to the house for a Pick-6. Combined with Lance settling down after his first few throws, finding rookie Ryan Flournoy for a score and running another in, the Cowboys were able to earn a preseason win, 27-12.

Dallas had a plethora of positive performances from individuals in the game, most noteworthy was Lance starting to look more comfortable under the bright lights. His first couple of passes were high, late, or high and late, but once they stopped trying to push the ball down the field and took check downs, he seemed to find his accuracy.

Lance went 5-for-5 for 34 yards on a six-minute drive to almost end the second quarter, the final throw a 1-yard throw to the back of the end zone to Flournoy. He finished the game 15 of 23 for 151 yards through the air with the score, plus another 36 yards on the ground with the second TD.

Lance was hardly the only positive on offense. Cooper Beebe, starting after getting first-team reps at center during the week, looked the part. The third rounder didn’t have any snap issues and opened holes in the run game.

Speaking of the run game, Deuce Vaughn was rather electric on the evening, showing a ton of wiggle en route to 34 yards on five carries. Dallas’ run game in general was strong, with Royce Freeman averaging 4.6 yards on his seven carries.

The Dallas defense was once again the story of the contest, however. The pressure they lacked against the Rams was there on this evening, with Marshawn Kneeland looking like a potential impact player both against the pass and the run.

New addition Jordan Phillips made a handful of plays at the line and behind it, and last week’s goat Albert Huggins turned things around and routinely broke into the backfield to pressure the Raiders QBs.

In the back seven, Hall’s big play came on the heels of his competition for CB5 or CB6, Andrew Booth. Burned early on a deep pass, he bounced back to make several key open-field tackles among his eight takedowns and looked the part of a rotational backup.

Juanyeh Thomas looked ready for the regular season as well with two pass breakups, one at the LOS and one in deep coverage and Dallas looks deep in the secondary.

Rookie Marist Liafau shook off his first-game jitters and was making plays on the evening as well.

Throw in Brandon Aubrey nailing a 66-yard field goal that may have been good from 72 and it was a complete day.

All in all, it was a positive performance for most of the club and most importantly the team seemed to avoid any major injuries. The team will return to Oxnard for two more practices before returning to Dallas to host the Los Angeles Chargers in the final exhibition game next Saturday.

NFL Preseason: Why aren’t Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, Mazi Smith playing for Cowboys vs Raiders?

The Cowboys stars and hopefuls have two different agendas for the preseason. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys will take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night in both teams’ second exhibition game of the 2024 NFL preseason. Fans of the Raiders will have an opportunity to see all of their key players such as newly signed free agent DT Christian Wilkins, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and even WR Davante Adams, who missed last week’s game and would sit out if head coach Antonio Pierce allowed him too.

The same can’t be said for the stars on the Dallas Cowboys’ side of things. Quarterback Dak Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons will be on the sideline for the game. So, too, will future Hall of Famer Zack Martin. Head coach Mike McCarthy has taken a totally different approach to star players playing in the preseason. They don’t.

WR CeeDee Lamb and second-year DT Mazi Smith also won’t be around, but for different reasons. Lamb continues to hold out in hopes that a new contract is coming his way soon. Smith, who would have played in an effort to improve on his lackluster rookie season, but an allergic reaction on Friday kept the former Michigan star from traveling with the team yesterday and they’ve ruled him out as well.

The absence of the key players is a gamble and NFL coaches land on either side of the fence on whether playing is important. Pierce, in his first offseason as a head coach, certainly has his reasons as he looks to set the tone for his ballclub. McCarthy, having been a coach in the league for three decades, sees things differently and doesn’t want to risk injury amongst his impact players.

McCarthy’s way might infuriate some fans who want to see the stars, but it does allow backups and down-roster hopefuls to gain much needed experience with in-game reps which can’t be simulated in practice.

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What channel, time is Cowboys vs Raiders on today? How to watch, stream NFL preseason Week 2

Here’s how and when you can catch the Cowboys in their second preseason game. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys return to the field on Saturday night, and depending on perspective it’s either perfect or the worst timing. In their second preseason game of the exhibition season, the Cowboys will come as close to a dress rehearsal as they plan. With only three preseason games, Week 2 is now the de facto time when a team tries to resemble their regular season version as much as possible, and Dallas will do so in a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The team boarded busses from Oxnard, CA Friday night and made their way east to the desert. And while Mike McCarthy is likely going to continue on with his recent tradition of leaving his stars out of the preseason calendar, there’s still plenty to watch for if fans are able to stay up to watch it.

Game and Zebra Information

Dallas Cowboys (0-1) vs Las Vegas Raiders (0-1)

When: 9 pm CT, Saturday, August 17, 2024

Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV Referee: Alex Kemp (via FootballZebras.com)

  1. Fubo Free Trial for those whose devices are shown to be in the local broadcast areas for either team.
  2. NFL+ is streaming live on computers, smartphones, tablets and TV-connected devices. You can get a 7-day free trial and watch the game at any time you like, but all of the Cowboys’ games are on NFL Network this preseason. So if you’re not interested in paying $39.99 for an annual subscription, you’ll be at the mercy of the replay schedule.
  3. Fans with IPTV services that broadcast local stations should be able to find one of the local affiliates listed above.

Local and Satellite Radio Channels

Local Radio: 105.3 The Fan for Cowboys in Dallas, KOMP 92.3 and 920 AM in Las Vegas for the Raiders

National Stream: None

Cowboys Stream: Sirius 88, Internet 808

Raiders Stream: Sirius 226, Internet 816

Broadcast and Streaming Info

Local Network Dallas: KTVT CBS 11 Local Network Las Vegas: FOX 5 National Network: NFL Network

Streaming

  1. Fubo Free Trial for those whose devices are shown to be in the local broadcast areas for either team.
  2. NFL+ is streaming live on computers, smartphones, tablets and TV-connected devices. You can get a 7-day free trial and watch the game at any time you like, but all of the Cowboys’ games are on NFL Network this preseason. So if you’re not interested in paying $39.99 for an annual subscription, you’ll be at the mercy of the replay schedule.
  3. Fans with IPTV services that broadcast local stations should be able to find one of the local affiliates listed above.

Local and Satellite Radio Channels

Local Radio: 105.3 The Fan for Cowboys in Dallas, KOMP 92.3 and 920 AM in Las Vegas for the Raiders

National Stream: None

Cowboys Stream: Sirius 88, Internet 808

Raiders Stream: Sirius 226, Internet 816

‘He wanted redemption’: Will Grier’s final throw from preseason win may give Cowboys QB new NFL life

From @ToddBrock24f7: He’d played a great game and aced his 31-team tryout. But in the final moments of his Cowboys tenure, Grier wanted one more pass.

During the two-minute warning of Saturday night’s preseason finale versus Las Vegas, Will Grier stood on the AT&T Stadium sideline already having made the most of his swan song as a Cowboys quarterback.

He had thrown 34 passes on the evening and hit on 28 of them, an impressive completion percentage of over 82%. He’d tossed a pair of touchdowns and even rushed for two more, having contributed 50-plus yards on the ground to cap off what had been previously designated as an extended tryout for Grier as he hopes to now get a call from one of the other 31 teams in the league.

It was unquestionably Grier’s best performance since his college days at West Virginia and maybe even ranked up there with the day he set the national record by tossing 837 yards in a single game as a high school junior in Davidson, North Carolina. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy would later call Grier’s leading of the Cowboys to a 31-16 win over the Raiders on Saturday the best preseason outing he’d seen from a quarterback in nearly a quarter-century.

All of that is to say the 28-year-old passer would have been excused if, facing a third-and-five from inside his own 30 with 120 seconds to go, he simply executed a victory formation a few times to close out his stay in Dallas on an unfailingly positive note.

But in talking with McCarthy and starting quarterback Dak Prescott, who was calling offensive plays for the first time, Grier instead made a last request.

“He asked for the same play that he had last week in Seattle,” McCarthy explained later in his postgame press conference. “He wanted redemption on it.”

Seven days earlier against the Seahawks, back when Grier was presumed to be a lock to be the Cowboys’ third quarterback for 2023, he attempted a deep ball down the left side to wide receiver Simi Fehoko on a critical third down. It was a play Grier had been running with good success in training camp, but under the lights at Lumen Field, he and Fehoko couldn’t connect.

The Cowboys punted and never got any closer on the scoreboard: another preseason loss. Fast-forward to the next Friday, and Grier was suddenly dead man walking in Dallas after the Cowboys traded for Trey Lance, the third overall draft pick of 2021.

McCarthy said he called Grier immediately after the deal went down. The writing was on the wall for Grier’s future as a Cowboy, but the coach had a simple message for the fifth-year veteran who hasn’t been on the field for a regular-season game since 2019.

“I just asked him to go out there and ‘play your ass off tonight,'” McCarthy said.

So with his Cowboys tenure in its final moments, seeing one last chance to make up for a previous missed opportunity, Grier pounced.

Wideout Tyron Billy-Johnson never even had to break stride to collect the rainbow throw from Grier for a 33-yard gain. It put Grier over 300 yards on the night. More important, it was one last confidence boost for the Cowboys gunslinger who will now ride off into the sunset in search of a new place to hang his hat.

“A statement throw,” McCarthy called it.

For Grier, the whole night was a statement, after a head-spinning couple of days.

“I was motivated,” Grier told reporters following the exhibition win. “It was tough; it was a weird situation. I think at the end of the day, I just rely on the fact that I know how to play football and I’m good at it. So I knew when the game started, I could just play football. That’s what I did.”

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The emotions hit Grier afterward, particularly upon the realization that he would be packing up his locker soon and saying goodbye to teammates.

“Bittersweet. Just close to a lot of these guys; that’s the hardest part,” he explained.

“It’s been tough, but I’ve been through tougher stuff. Got a lot of respect for this organization and the Jones family. I understand that it’s a business at the end of the day, and I respect that. And the hardest part on me is just leaving this place, to be honest. Just got really close with the team, and that’s the toughest part about what we do.”

And now Grier will- almost certainly, after Saturday’s very encouraging audition- have the opportunity to do it for another team.

That one last statement throw, made when he could have just as easily taken a knee, may have been exactly what somebody needed to see to give him the chance to resurrect his pro career.

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Look: Hunter Luepke has big night in trying to make Cowboys’ 53-man roster

Luepke makes the cutdown day decision much more difficult after a stellar performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. | From @ArmyChiefW3

After not showing much in his first two opportunities, running back Hunter Luepke made a case for a roster spot Saturday night. The undrafted free agent from North Dakota State had himself a game in the Cowboys’ 31-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. He ended his night with 15 carries for 58 yards while also catching 5 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Just before halftime, Luepke used some nifty footwork and picked up 29 yards on a pass from quarterback Will Grier before being tackled at the 15-yard line. He scored on the ensuing play on a 15-yard out route.

Luepke has been sort of a jack-of-all-trades during training camp attempting to show his versatility to the Cowboys coaches and front office. He’s competing for the fourth running back spot behind Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn, all of whom had the night off showing their security for final cuts.

Meanwhile Luepke shared carries with Malik Davis, a 2022 UDFA who saw playing time in the regular season last year, but hasn’t secured a role for 2023 yet. Ronald Jones, Jr. also shares a chance, but injuries kept him out of the entire preseason and he’s facing a two-game suspension to start the year.

While it’s anyone’s guess as to what the final roster and practice squad will look like, Luepke should have a shot at being retained on one or the other. Cuts must be completed no later than Tuesday, August 29 at 3:00 pm Central.

Twitter reacts to Will Grier’s breakout game after learning he’s fired

A look at how fans and media responded to Grier stepping up despite the tough news he received. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Have yourself a day, Will Grier. Less than 48 hours after learning he was essentially a dead-man walking, Grier came out and owned the football field. Faced with a pending release following the Cowboys acquiring 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance, Grier took the opportunity to audition for another team very seriously.

Grier had been lackluster in the team’s first two preseason games, playing well for stretches but making unforgivable mistakes down the stretch. Dallas took the opportunity to trade a fourth-round pick for a player they felt could be a top player in the league and that sealed the deal. Grier took that as motivation and came out dealing, leading Dallas to a 31-16 win in the exhibition finale.

Grier finished the night 29 for 35, throwing for 305 yards and two scores, averaging 8.7 yards a completion. He wasn’t down there, running for another 53 yards and two more scores. Dallas finished the game with 457 yards of offense. Of course, Twitter had a field day with Grier’s performance.

Cowboys prove to not be top-heavy, dominate Raiders 31-16 in battle of reserves

Dallas avoided a winless preseason with an impressive performance behind Will Grier’s 300-yard passing game. | From @KDDrummondNFL

One of the biggest question marks about the Cowboys is just how much depth they have. Sure, they have star power entering the 2023 regular season, but rarely is that enough for a team to hoist the Lombardi at the end of the year. A team either has to be extremely lucky when it comes to injuries or they have to sport extensive depth to be able to plug in reserves and not miss a beat.

A preseason performance is hardly a full gauge of depth, but in a battle of all backups, the Cowboys proved theirs were clearly a class above that of the  Raiders. Led by Will Grier who knew he was playing his last game with a star on his helmet, Dallas dominated in the exhibition finale, taking down Las Vegas 31-16.

Grier, who had starting QB Dak Prescott in his ear as playcaller, led the Cowboys’ offense to over 450 total yards on offense as he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another two. Grier was calm, cool and collected in his audition for 31 other teams after Dallas acquired Trey Lance on Friday and told the young veteran he wouldn’t make the final roster.

Dallas gave him all the snaps and he replied with a 300-yard passing performance, looking better than he had in his previous two outings. Dallas converted seven of their first 10 third downs and was able to stymie the previously en fuego rookie QB Aidan O’Connell.

Dallas moved to 1-2 on the exhibition schedule and will transition to trimming the roster before Tuesday’s deadline. The next time they hit the field will be for the regular season opener against the New York Giants.