What we learned in Dallas Cowboys 31-16 victory over the Raiders in the preseason final
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See photos from the game
The Cowboys defeat the New York Jets in their season home opener. Check out photos from the sidelines.
Saturday’s Dallas Cowboys’ 31-16 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday at AT&T Stadium preseason final was overshadowed locally and nationally by the Cowboys’ acquisition of quarterback Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night.
An already meaningless preseason game, which the Cowboys held out Dak Prescott and the majority of the veteran starters for a third straight week, had even less significance, especially with the starting quarterback in Will Grier knowing that he had no chance of making the roster.
Lance is going to be the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Prescott and Cooper Rush. And Grier will likely be released before final cuts on Tuesday.
As much as Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was excited about the Lance, he felt for Grier and what he had to endure with the move.
“I’m really excited about the acquisition,” McCarthy said. “I think anytime you have an opportunity to just trust your personnel grades. The timing of it was tough.”
What was initially billed as a final chance for Grier to prove he was worthy of a roster spot turned into an opportunity for him to showcase himself for the rest of the NFL.
“It’s been tough,” Grier said. “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 just leaving this place, to be honest.”
Grier can walk away from the Cowboys with his head high — for his professionalism in an uncomfortable situation and for his outstanding play against the Raiders.
Grier, who finished the game completing 29 of 35 passes for 305 yards, was simply amazing the first half.
He was 18 of 23 passing for 182 yards with two touchdown passing and a 128.6 quarterback rating.
He also scrambled four times for 49 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys led 21-13 at halftime.
Grier continued his hot streak in the third quarter as he led the Cowboys on their fourth 75-yard scoring driving drive. His 7-yard scoring run put them up 28-16.
“I was motivated,” Grier said. “It was tough, a weird situation. And 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 the game started I could just play football. I think my play speaks for itself and what I can do in the field.”
McCarthy called it “the finest preseason performance has seen since 1999.”
“That was tough all the way around,” McCarthy said. “We use that phrase, ‘this is a business’. When I got the phone call, I called Will immediately. I thought he handled it very well. I just asked him to go out there and play your ass off. It’s a great opportunity and just the way the team rallied around him with walk throughs. And you can see it right away, he was using his feet, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns.”
Prescott answered several questions post game about Trey Lance.
“We’re going to welcome him as we do any teammate and hopefully he just makes us better,” Prescott said.
“He then turned focus to a teammate who soon will become a former one.
“Honestly, right now, my heart and my mind are with Will (Grier),” Prescott added. “I love that guy to death over there.”
“Man just played his ass off. That’s who Will is, that’s who Will’s been since the time that he’s been here. It was awesome that he got to go out there and put that performance on display. I hope the rest of the league saw that and took notice.”
It was the first win of the preseason for the Cowboys (1-2) after losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks.
The next time they take the field Prescott will be in the lineup at the New York Giants in the regular-season opener on Sept. 10
Here’s what we learned:
Prescott can call plays
So much for the illegitimate talk about a quarterback controversy in Dallas following the acquisition of Lance, a former first-round draft pick.
He is no threat to Prescott.
But how about a play caller controversy.?
Coach Mike McCarthy let Prescott call the plays Saturday, which was curious since the careers and futures of so many young players, including Grier, were at stake with final cuts looming.
Prescott more than proved up to the challenge as the Cowboys opened the game with a touchdown drive for the first time all preseason.
Grier capped an 11-play 75-yard drive with a 2-yard run.
It was the first of four 75-yard touchdown drives the Cowboys had the first five times they had the ball.
“Yeah, it’s fun. It’s a great time,” Prescott said. “This is the [stuff] you dream about when you play this game. It’s not just playing the game, it’s being able to impact it every which way. Obviously knowing that this is a big night for Will [Grier], I was just trying to make him comfortable, keep him comfortable and continue with the spirit we have going.”
McCarthy said he prepared Prescott for this opportunity in training camp when he had his call the last two minutes of practice.
He didn’t let Prescott know he was going to call plays until this week and he didn’t get a chance to start preparations until Thursday.
McCarthy said he thought Prescott was outstanding and believes it was an important step in helping him continue to master the offense.
“The emotional mental rehearsal and just being in it is so important,” McCarthy said. “That’s a really good experience for him to play the game as it’s been called. For him to call it, that’s part of preparing the play.”
Brandon Aubrey makes his case at kicker
The Cowboys remain bullish on kicker Brandon Aubrey.
But it will be question for the team heading into the season opener against the Giants.
Aubrey has a big leg and loads of potential. He has kicked well in practice.
But the former high school and college soccer player has never kicked in an NFL regular-season game.
He was a success the past two years in the USFL, but they league has few fans.
And the Cowboys got limited opportunities to see Aubrey kick in the first two preseason games. He made a 29-yard field goal in the opener against the Jaguars. He did not get any field goal attempts against the Seahawks.
Things weren’t ideal against the Raiders as Aubrey had two attempts of 59 yards.
He missed the first one wide left in the first quarter.
But he nailed the second on the fourth quarter to at least show what the fuss is about.
Aubrey made of his extra points for the second straight game after missing one against the Jaguars and all his kickoff were touch backs.
“You know the first one he just pulled a little bit,” McCarthy said. “I was so happy and that’s why we did what we did on third down. To give him another shot there, he’s shown that he can do it. You just want to get those live reps. Yeah, as soon the ball left his foot you knew it was good. I thought he had a nice night.”
McCarthy said Aubrey’s performance makes him more comfortable about going into the season with him as the kicker.
“Yeah definitely. I think that’s understandable,” McCarthy said. “If I was to be critical, I wish I got him some more opportunities in the first two games. That’s why it was important to give him a couple cracks from deep tonight.”
A bevy of running backs
Remember before the start of training camp when there was a question about the depth at running back behind starter Tony Pollard?
Who was going to get the carries that departed NFL rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott got last year?
Now there is a question of who are the Cowboys going to cut at running back?
Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn have earned spots behind Pollard with outstanding training camp and preseason performances.
Malik Davis, the third running back of a year ago, has also shown himself worthy.
He added 10 carries for 42 yards against the Raiders for good measure.
Former North Dakota State star Hunter Leupke got an extended look Saturday night for the first time and added his name to the conversation.
He rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries.
He also showed his versatility with five catches for 60 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown reception.
“Luepke was really impressive,” McCarthy said. “Did little things just to fit his run style. I thought he really delivered, he was excellent out of the backfield too. Malik Davis ran well too, those two young backs were outstanding. Like anything it starts at the offensive line. You know we lost Josh Ball early. I thought Brock had them ready to play and I thought the line played with a lot of fire. I’m excited to see the video, looked like we were bending them back at times. I thought our players, our young players Weeks 1, 2 and 3 improved every week. That’s a great way to finish the preseason.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2023 at 9:57 PM.
