The Dallas Cowboys’ 3-0 victory in their preseason opener Monday night was obviously not a thing of beauty, especially in the first half that saw a scoreless tie in Oakland.
Quarterback Tony Romo said, despite missing three offensive starters including two on the line, there were simply too many errors to be successful.
“I think we need to eliminate some of the mistakes that put us in a hole tonight,” Romo said at halftime. “We have a lot of young guys playing right now, and we are just going to be able to evaluate this tape and get better from it. Right now is a time for us to correct the mistakes that are on the tape. I think the effort was there tonight; we just need to have better execution and we will."
Romo finished the night just 3 of 6 passing for 30 yards, including a 24-yard strike to Dez Bryant.
Running back DeMarco Murray, returning from a broken ankle that wiped out the final month of last season, said he was excited to get back in the action.
“It was good to get back on the field and compete against a different team after training camp and going against the same guys every day and every week,” Murray said. “It was a great feeling to get out here and get a couple of plays and just continue to work."
On defense, the Cowboys forced a turnover on the Raiders’ first possession when Gerald Sensabaugh picked off Carson Palmer.
But they also played without four five players -- Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Anthony Spencer, Morris Claiborne and Mike Jenkins.
"I think it is always a good time to see where you stand and play against another opponent,” said outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware. “I felt like the first team did pretty good, and now we are watching the second team. There are always some things that we need to work on, but I think it was a good first half."
The Cowboys’ game started a wild journey of four preseason games in a 16-day period.
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Cowboys: Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware aware of issues in preseason opener
Halfway through the 3-0 victory Monday night by Dallas at Oakland, Tony Romo could easily see the problems that led to a scoreless first half. DeMarcus Ware weighed in too.
By
Nick Eatman
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1 min read