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The start was sloppy and the end was sloppy, with more than enough penalties to go around. The first-unit played only a couple of series, looking efficient on their second possession, and the rookies looked like, well, rookies.
All in all, the Cowboys' 31-10 loss at Oakland Thursday night looked every bit the part of an opening preseason game.
At least no one got hurt.
After winning the coin flip, Isaiah Stanback took the opening kickoff out to only the 14-yard line, but a holding penalty on Tashard Choice made things even worse, setting up Tony Romo and Co. at their own seven. Things didn't go much better from there on the first possession of the 2009 preseason, with Romo's pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage, followed by Barber losing a yard and another pass down the left sideline falling incomplete.
Out came punter Mat McBriar for his first punt since being injured a year ago, a difficult one from his own end zone. But although the kick was poor, the Cowboys benefitted from a great roll, downing the ball at the Raiders' 32.
Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell came out with a quick 11-yard pass on the right hash mark to Chaz Schilens and running back Justin Fargas gained two yards before Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin nearly picked off a long attempt by Russell, the ball bouncing out of his hands on the left sideline.
On the very next play, though, Russell basically threw a lame duck jump ball deep into Dallas territory, but safety Gerald Sensabaugh was called for pass interference, a 47-yard penalty that gave the Raiders a first and goal at the Cowboys' eight-yard line.
Russell drilled a pass into Schilens to get to the Dallas two, but on the very next play a holding call by guard Cooper Carlisle dropped them back 10 yards. On second and 12 Russell through out to Lorenzo Neal in the flat, but linebacker Bradie James was there to drop him back two more yards.
Schilens brought down another Russell toss to get his team back to the four, where Sebastian Janikowski then split the uprights for a 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Stanback had better fortune on his second return, taking the ball back 27 yards to the Dallas 29-yard line. Setting up in their two-tight end formation, Romo rolled out and found tight end Martellus Bennett, who then broke a tackle for a nice seven-yard pickup.
Barber then did what he does best, barreling up the middle for an eight-yard gain and a first down at the 44. Another first down came on the very next play when Romo hit wide receiver Roy Williams on a comeback pattern on the left sideline for 12 yards.
Then Felix Jones did what he does best, bursting around the left end for a nice 14-yard gain and yet another first down at the Oakland 30. Although Romo's next pass fell incomplete, a defensive holding penalty on the Raiders' Stanford Routt gave the Cowboys a first down at the 25.
Dallas' march continued as a reverse to Patrick Crayton around the left end brought 12 yards to give the Cowboys a first down at the Oakland 13. A screen pass to Jones and a short run by Barber set up a first and goal at the one, but a holding call on guard Kyle Kosier on the next play pushed them back 10 yards to the 11.
Barber pushed the scrum ahead for three yards before Romo found tight end Jason Witten just inside the goal line for the team's first touchdown. Nick Folk secured the extra point and the Cowboys had the lead, 7-3.
Rookie David Buehler belted the kickoff to the four-yard line, Oakland's Justin Miller returning it the 21. On first down, linebacker Keith Brooking broke through the line practically untouched to sack Russell, an 11-yard loss.
Running back Darren McFadden made up the deficit, though, with a 13-yard gain then on third and eight, Russell found a leaping Schilens for a first down at the Raiders 39. With Brooking rushing again, this time Russell took off running, going for 18 yards for a first down at the Dallas 43.
But the drive stalled. An incomplete pass and a false start penalty were followed by nose tackle Jay Ratliff batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage. A screen attempt picked up nine yards, which brought out punter Shane Lechler for his first try of the night, the Pro Bowler pooching one that was downed at the Cowboys five.
The starters done, Jon Kitna took over quarterbacking duties for the Cowboys as the second-teamers entered the game for Dallas. Choice got the first two carries, picking up a combined five yards, with a short pass to Bennett adding only one more to end the drive. McBriar, again punting out of his own end zone, booted this one out to the Oakland 47 with a holding call pushing the Raiders to their own 38.
While the Cowboys defensive starters were done for the night as well, Oakland kept their first string still in aside from Russell who was replaced by Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback. McFadden took the handoff on the next play and broke down the left sideline for a big 45-yard gain to the Cowboys 17 as the first quarter came to an end.
Another McFadden carry inched the ball to the 15 before a short dump-off to Schilens gave Oakland a first and goal at the six-yard line. McFadden then moved the ball up to the three before Gradkowski found tight end Tony Stewart all alone in the end zone for the score. Janikowski's kick was good and the Raiders were back on top 10-7.
After Stanback took the bouncing kickoff out to the Dallas 29, Choice picked up two yards before Kitna was sacked for a 10-yard loss. On third and 18, Kitna threw a short screen to Choice for a seven-yard pickup, which brought out McBriar for his third punt of the night.
McBriar boomed this one 60 yards, all the way back to the Raiders 12, return man Johnnie Lee Higgins managing only eight yards on the return. Starting at their own 20, Oakland was hit with a tripping call to move back 10 yards. On first and 20, Gradkowski hit wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey on a slant for eight yards with a defensive offside penalty handing the home club five more.
An incompletion on second down was followed by a big hit from Sensabaugh that broke up a pass intended for wideout Louis Murphy. Out came Lechler for another punt, Willie Reid taking the ball at the 31, but picking up only two yards.
Kitna had Miles Austin open on a slant, but the receiver dropped the ball for an incompletion. Sam Hurd, however, caught his throw for 21 yards, giving Dallas a first and 10 at the Raiders 48.
The Cowboys were fortunate when a mishandled snap was scooped up by Kitna, then grabbed a little more luck when an encroachment penalty on Oakland gave them five yards for a second and seven. But on the very next play, Kitna tried to slip one through double-coverage to Hurd, only to see safety Michael Huff there to grab the interception.
Taking over at the their own seven, Gradkowski found Murphy for a first down at the 25, but a big run by tailback Michael Bush was negated by guard Paul McQuistan, brother of Cowboys' tackle Pat McQuistan, being called for a holding penalty. Another attempt to Murphy came up short and a run by Bush picked up seven to set up third and 13. Gradkowski tried to connect to Higgins again, but the ball sailed too high to bring on the punting unit.
DeAngelo Smith dropped back to take Lechler's punt, the rookie trying to pick up the bouncing football, but instead knocking it out of bounds at the Dallas 23.
After Kitna threw a 12-yard strike to Hurd, Choice seemingly broke one around the right sideline, only to have Hurd called for holding to bring it all back to the 38. Hurd then caught Kitna's pass for four yards, which was followed by the two connecting again for a nice 30-yard strike downfield to the Raiders 28.
Taking the handoff up the middle, Choice carried for four yards, with the Kitna/Hurd tandem then hooking up again for a 12-yard completion and a first down at the Oakland 12. Choice added three yards before the two-minute warning, then collected three more after the break.
Working out of the shotgun, Kitna fired hard over the middle of the end zone to Hurd, and although the receiver dropped the ball, Huff was called for interference to set up first and goal at the one. A bad handoff to Choice resulted in a loss of a yard, and then a high snap, which went over Kitna's head but was recovered by the quarterback, put the Cowboys at third and goal at their own 18.
Kitna tried to hit Stanback in the back corner of the end zone, but the ball sailed over his target. With 19 seconds remaining in the quarter, Folk came out for a 36-yard field goal but missed the kick to the left, the score remaining 10-7 at the end of the half.
The second half got underway with Buehler kicking one into the end zone for a touchback, something the Cowboys failed to do all of last season. Starting at their own 20, running back Louis Rankin went up the middle for four yards, which was followed by Gradkowski slipping one into Murphy for a nine -yard gain. Head coach Wade Phillips challenged the call and the play was reversed, the ball having been ruled that it hit the ground first.
On third and six at the Raiders' 24, Gradkowski missed his intended target, but rookie cornerback Mike Mickens was called for illegal hands to the face to give Oakland a first down at their own 29.
The Raiders' quarterback then threw out to Murphy on the right sideline for a big 22-yard reception to put the ball at the Dallas 49-yard line. An incompletion was followed by a screen pass on the left side to Rankin that went for a 19-yard gain down to the Cowboys' 30.
Rankin took the handoff around the right side for nine yards with Gradkowski then hitting Heyward-Bey and the tight end Brandon Myers for a total of 26 yards to set up a first and goal at the three-yard line. Rankin finished out the drive, breaking tackles around the left end for the score. Kicker Ricky Schmitt provided the extra point to push the totals to 17-7.
Schmitt kicked off to Kevin Ogletree, who picked up 18 yards, then had five more tacked on thanks to an offside penalty on the Raiders kickoff unit that put the ball at the Dallas 35.
Rookie quarterback Stephen McGee made his debut for the Cowboys and after a false start penalty, immediately threw a screen pass to Keon Lattimore for a solid 10-yard gain and a first down. McGee then rolled out to his right and tried to find Stanback, but although the attempt fell incomplete, a pass interference call gave Dallas the ball at the their own 48-yard line.
Lattimore took the following handoff up the middle for six yards, with McGee's next pass being batted down at the line of scrimmage. Another penalty by the Raiders defense brought another first down with Lattimore then scrambling around the right side for 12 yards to move the chains.
McGee rolled out to the left this time and, narrowly avoiding an interception, flipped one to tight end John Phillips for six yards. Lattimore picked up two more for a third and two. Under pressure, McGee threw it away out of bounds to give Buehler a chance to kick a 39-yard field goal. The attempt was good, bringing Dallas to within a touchdown, 17-10.
Nick Miller took Buehler's kick at the two-yard line and ran it out to the Raiders' 31. An offsides call on the Cowboys' Tim Anderson gave Oakland five yards, but an illegal shift on the home team negated that advantage.
On first and 10 at the 31, running back Gary Russell took the handoff for three yards before Gradkowski hit wideout Jonathan Holland over the middle for a big 16-yard gain. The quarterback then went deep to wide receiver Miller, who made a diving catch at the Cowboys two-yard line for a 48-yard completion and a first and goal.
Russell tried to power up the middle, but was stopped short, then took the next handoff off the right tackle for yet another touchdown. Schmitt chipped in the extra point to up the ante to 24-10.
Ogeltree took the kickoff back 29 yards to the Cowboys 39. On the first two plays of the series, McGee had to scramble out of bounds both times, resulting in a third and six, tackle Doug Free then jumping offsides to set up third and 11. Under pressure again, McGee threw it away, bringing out McBriar for another punting attempt.
Miller took the 39-yard boot back fours yards to set up Oakland with first and 10 at their own 27. Rankin grabbed the handoff from quarterback Charlie Frye and ran straight up the middle for seven yards, which was followed by another Rankin scamper for six more yards and a first down.
Able to avoid pressure, Frye hit his target, wide receiver Todd Watkins, for a 28-yard reception, with Rankin then stuffed after a two-yard gain. The quarterback hit the tight end Myers again for 11 yards and a first down at the Cowboys 19, although a holding penalty on the next play pushed the Oakland drive back 10 yards.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Frye threw three consecutive incompletions to end the drive and set up a punt. Schmitt kicked the ball down to the Cowboys seven, where McGee immediately handed off to Lattimore who went nowhere. Two consecutive incompletions later and McBriar had another opportunity to show off his leg, the Aussie blasting one 56 yards to the Oakland 31. Miller took the return back 10 yards.
Frye immediately found wide receiver Samie Parker for 18 yards, the quarterback then trying to hit Shawn Bayes down the left sideline only to see the pass broken up by the cornerback Mickens.
A short dump-off to the tight end Darrell Strong was followed by an incompletion on third and eight to set up the punt. Schmitt's kick was muffed by Reid , the loose ball recovered by Oakland's David Nixon for a first and 10 at the Dallas 11.
Frye quickly found receiver Will Franklin at the five-yard line, then Russell took the handoff down to the two. Frye then threw a fade route to Franklin in the left corner of the end zone for touchdown number four, the extra kick pushing the score to 31-10.
Ogeltree had a nice return, running the kickoff back 39 yards to the Dallas 44. Lattimore took the handoff three yards, but an illegal man downfield call resulted in a five-yard penalty on the next play. Lattimore then broke outside for a 19-yard pickup, before adding two more on the ground.
Lattimore stayed busy with a screen pass to the running back picking up four yards to the Oakland 33, but an illegal shift moved the team back five yards once again. McGee kept the drive alive, throwing to wideout Manuel Johnson for a 14-yard completion and a first down.
McGee tried to go deep down the right sideline, the play drawing a pass interference call to set up first and goal at the Oakland eight. Lattimore attempted to go around the right end, but picked up only one yard, then took the next handoff straight up the middle for four yards to the three.
After Lattimore was stuffed for no gain, the Cowboys went for it on fourth and goal, McGee trying to hit Johnson in the back of the end zone but the ball flying just wide of his intended target for an incompletion.
Taking over on downs, Oakland's Russell went nowhere before Frye then threw out of his own end zone to fullback Marcel Reece for a 13-yard pick up. Russell ran twice, both times straight up the middle for a combined 17 yards and a first down at the Raiders' 28.
Russell continued to carry the load, going around the left end for six yards, then up the middle for five more as the two-minute warning sounded. The Russell show continued with the back taking the next two handoffs for eight yards and a first down before Frye took a knee to end the game.
Lattimore led all Cowboys runners with 11 carries for 55 yards with Kitna totaling 87 yards in the air off eight 7-for-10 passing. Hurd was the primary beneficiary on the receiving end, earning 79 yards off of five catches.
For the Raiders, McFadden led the ground attack with 64 yards, 45 of which came on one carry. Gradkowski was 9-for-16 in the air for 153 yards with Schilens finishing with 52 yards receiving on five grabs.
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