Cowboys’ defense rebounds with strong showing in 2-minute drill

1 The Cowboys’ defense showed signs of life in the 2-minute drill at the end of practice Monday. It forced Tony Romo and the first-team offense to punt for the first time since the beginning of training camp. An overthrow to tight end Jason Witten was followed by a pass deflection by cornerback Orlando Scandrick on a pass to Witten. Then on third down, linebacker Sean Lee broke up a pass to running back Alfred Morris. It was a great finish to what had been a lackluster day by the defense. Romo was 8-for-8 passing in the 7-on-7 passing drills when it looked like he was throwing against air.

2 Two players who had subpar games in the preseason opener were singled out in the “compete drill” in front of the team Monday. Rookie receiver Andy Jones and tight end Geoff Swaim had two dropped passes each against the Rams. Romo threw the ball over Jones’ head in a battle against cornerback Jeremiah McKinnon. Swaim held his own in pass protection against Kyle Wilber. Tackle Chaz Green handled defensive end Ryan Russell in pass protection, as did guard Ronald Leary against tackle Shaneil Jenkins, who had the team’s only sack in the game.

3 Rookie tight end Rico Gathers played just two snaps in the preseason opener. He is still making the adjustment to the NFL after playing basketball at Baylor. Coach Jason Garrett said the Cowboys didn’t want to overwhelm him or get other players injured because he wasn’t ready. “We just wanted to use him in select situations,” Garrett said. “We were a little careful about him in third down because of a variety of pressures that they were going to bring. He’s just not quite ready for that. We wanted to make sure his environment was right and he could have some success, handle the looks and just go play football.”

4 The Cowboys added some much-needed reinforcements to their suspect defense when defensive end Benson Mayowa, rookie defensive tackle Maliek Collins and linebacker Damien Wilson returned to practice for the first time since the start of training camp. Mayowa came to the Cowboys as a restricted free agent from the Oakland Raiders in hopes of jump-starting his career and the team’s woeful pass rush. He is ready to make the most of his opportunity after notching two sacks in three previous seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders. “I have just been working hard,” Mayowa said. “If you follow me you know where I came from. You know my story. I just been sticking with it. Opportunity finds hard workers. It starts today for me, getting back with my boys and doing what I’m supposed to do.”

5 There were some interesting lineup changes to note. Terrell McClain started at nose tackle in practice ahead of Cedric Thornton, a free agent signee who was supposed to take over the starting spot from the departed Nick Hayden. Veteran Justin Durant worked with Sean Lee at linebacker in the nickel defense ahead of Anthony Hitchens for the first time.

Cleared to play

Defensive tackle Maliek Collins (foot), defensive end Benson Mayowa (knee) and linebacker Damien Wilson (eye) passed their physicals Monday.

Injury report

QB Kellen Moore: Fractured lower leg, out 3-4 months

RB Ezekiel Elliott: Hamstring, day-to-day

LB Andrew Gachkar: Thumb, TBD

RB Lance Dunbar: Knee, PUP

TE James Hanna: Knee, PUP

RB Darren McFadden: Elbow, non-football injury list (NFI)

LB Jaylon Smith: Knee, NFI

DE Lawrence Okoye: Hamstring, day-to-day

S Jeff Heath: Concussion symptoms, day-to-day

DE Charles Tapper: Back, day-to-day

CB Anthony Brown: Hamstring, day-to-day

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ defense rebounds with strong showing in 2-minute drill."