What we learned about Mike Zimmer’s defense, Trey Lance in Cowboys’ 27-12 win vs Raiders
There was a lot for the Dallas Cowboys to feel good about in Saturday’s 27-12 preseason victory against the Las Vegas on a trip that didn’t start off well.
Their travel from Oxnard, Calif., to Las Vegas was delayed on Friday after second-year nose tackle Mazi Smith suffered an allergic reaction and was hospitalized.
Smith’s doing much better, according to coach Mike McCarthy, but he didn’t travel to the game.
Smith’s absence forced veteran nose tackle Jordan Phillips to play in the game or at least get more snaps than planned, considering he was acquired from the New York Giants in a trade last Wednesday and did not have any practice reps with the Cowboys.
What the Cowboys were able to do against the Raiders, who played most of their starters on both sides of the ball for much of the first half, spoke volumes about coach Mike McCarthy and the defense taking heed to the coaching and schemes of new coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Gardner Minshew and Aiden O’Connell, locked in battle for the Raiders starting quarterback job, were neutralized by a Cowboys defense that didn’t play a single starter and opened the game with a defensive tackle who been with the team for two days.
The Raiders mustered just 163 yards in the first half and were just 2 of 9 on third down.
Of the 163 yards, 48 yards came on a pass play. The Raiders also benefited from a 43-yard return. And were gifted a fumbled punt 23 yards from the end zone.
They ended up with just two field goals in the first half as the Zimmer and the Cowboys defense always had an answer as the foundation of a 13-6 halftime lead.
Linebacker Willie Harvey dropped a potential pick-6 on the opening of the game against Minshew.
And it was cornerback Kemon Hall who made it count to open the fourth quarter with a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown against O’Connell to put the Cowboys up 20-12.
Hall jumped a pass intended for tight end Harrison Bryant and took it to the house.
Minshew finished 10 of 21 for just 95 yards. Three Raiders quarterbacks combined to complete 30 of 49 passes for 234 yards.
Also showing up big for the Cowboys defense were safeties Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas, cornerback Andrew Booth, linebacker Nick Vigil and safety Israel Mukuamu.
“I’m proud of our guys. I love the way they came out and competed,” McCarthy said. “What a great opportunity to go against their first group. I think the defense clearly set the tempo with the stops. We had two fourth down stops. Those are huge as are the takeaways. We’re off to a good start here in the first two weeks.
This was a great experience. I think anytime you have a chance for your young guys to play against guys with experience, you can’t buy that, especially going into the season like we are. So this was good night for us.”
The Cowboys close the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 24.
Trey Lance shows signs of life
Just as he did last week against the Rams, Cooper Rush got the start at quarterback for the Cowboys.
Rush played two series before giving way to third-string quarterback Trey Lance for the remainder of the game.
While Lance remains a long shot to unseat Rush as the backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott, he made some positive strides in his continued development.
The final seven minutes of the second quarter were his finest moments since he was traded to the Cowboys from the San Francisco 49ers last August.
With the Cowboys down 6-3, Lance directed a 14-play, 76-yard touchdown drive.
He competed three passes to rookie receiver Ryan Flournoy and one to tight end Luke Schoonmaker for a key first down.
He ran for a first down on a zone read.
And then he it Flournoy for a touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone.
It was second-and-goal from the 1-yard line and Cowboys could have easily run it in. But McCarthy wanted to get Trey Lance a touchdown pass and the quarterback delivered with a perfect throw on time and in rhythm to Flournoy.
“Yeah, Ryan killed him, so it was like a long hand off,” Lance said. “Great route by Ryan. Super excited him to get his first one.”
It was the first Cowboys touchdown of the preseason.
But Lance wasn’t done.
After the Cowboys defense held, he moved the Cowboys 38 yards on five plays, capped by 20-yard scramble to set up Brandon Aubrey for a 66-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Lance was 8 of 11 for 52 yards and a 112.7 quarterback rating in the first half. He also had four carries for 34 yards.
Lance and the offense didn’t have as much success in the second half. until late in the fourth quarter when Lance directed a 13-play, 88-yard drive that took 7:29 off the clock.
It featured a 30-yard completion to Ryan McBath, which Lance said was his favorite of the night outside of the touchdown pass to Flournoy.
He finished in the end zone with a two-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper to seal the victory for the Cowboys.
He finished the game completing 15 of 23 passes for 151 yards with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run and some much deserved confidence.
Lance said he felt more comfortable than he did last week against the Rams and hopes to build of his play.
“I don’t know if there’s anything specific, just try to take everything one step at a time,” Lance said. “Definitely, more comfortable. I think that was a big part of it. Just going to try to build on again next week. Yeah, it feels good to win. I feel good. I’m glad we got the win. I think that’s the most important thing to me. But watch the tape and learn from it and do the same exact thing next week.”
Deuce Vaughn and the running game
Running backs Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman made their preseason debuts against the Raiders after missing the Rams game with soft tissue injuries.
Freeman had seven carries for 32 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. He had some strong runs on the touchdown drive in the second quarter.
And Vaughn had five carries for 34 yards and left everyone wanting more, especially after a 12-yard in the second quarter that featured some of the cutting and explosiveness he showed when he was All-American at Kansas State.
“It felt good, just two weeks of being patient, letting my hamstring heal and get it to a point good enough where I can go and play,” Vaughn said. “That was tough, man. First time, I had to sit out like that for a soft tissue injury, but it was felt really good. Get back in the helmet, get out there and play with my guys.”
As far as the 12-yard run is concerned, Vaughn said he was “just showcasing what I can do every time I touch the football, every opportunity I get, is the biggest thing for myself.”
But also give the offensive line some credit as it held up and opened holes against a Raiders defense that featured most of starters in the first half.
Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton and rookie center Cooper Beebe acquitted themselves well in their first extensive action.
Brandon Aubrey shows off dad strength with record kick
In the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, kicker Brandon Aubrey showed that he was human by badly missing a field goal attempt from 65 yards.
After that game, Aubrey ran out of the stadium to be with his wife who had a baby boy the next day.
Aubrey missed a couple days of training camp. He returned to action Saturday night against the Raiders and let the NFL world know he still carries a boom stick.
Aubrey made two field goals against the Raiders, a 54-yarder in the first quarter, then a massive 66-yarder to close the first half.
The NFL doesn’t keep preseason stats, but 66 yards is a league record for the regular season.
Suffice it to say, no Cowboys kicker has ever made a 66-yard field goal in the preseason or regular season.
Aubrey credit his effort to “dad strength.”
He named his son Colton.
He said he was told his 66-yarder would have been good from 72. His longest in practice has been 70 yards.
“You can feel it off your foot. It feels like nothing is there, it has no resistance. It pops off your foot. It stays on your foot for like a half a second and then it just flies.”
Aubrey made 36 of 38 field goals in 2023 when he led the league in scoring and made his first 35 attempts. He was 10 for 10 from 50 yards or longer, including a 60-yarder.
This story was originally published August 18, 2024 at 12:15 AM.
