On the opening kickoff, Isaiah Ekejiuba made a stellar tackle on the Dallas 14-yard line. The special teams ace just continues to play at a high level on the coverage units.
On 3rd and 11, and their backs to the end zone on their opening drive, Dallas was pressured into a quick toss down the sidelines, as the Raiders blitzed and forced Tony Romo to get rid of the ball quickly.
On their own 32, the Raiders begin their attack with a JaMarcus Russell pass to Chaz Schilens for 11 yards. Three plays into the Raiders first drive, Russell under throws the speedy Darrius Heyward-Bey on a bomb down the sideline, which falls incomplete after bouncing off the arms of the defender and receiver. On the next play, 3rd and 8, Russell buys some time by rolling out of the pocket and again throws deep, but this time, his under throw forces a flag (48 yard penalty), as Schilens cannot haul in the football. Russell needs to do more of this in order to prolong plays and stretch the field. The play sets up the Raiders at the Cowboys 8 yard line.
1st and goal from the 8-yard line, Schilens hauls in a 6-yard pass on a slant. The following play was a hold on RG Cooper Carlisle. 2nd and goal from the 12-yard line resulted on a dump off to Lorenzo Neal for a loss of 2 yards. 3rd and goal, Russell on the other side of the formation hits Schilens with another slant well short of the end zone. The penalty was a drive killer, but Sebastian Janikowski was able to boot a 23 yard field goal to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
Nnamdi Asomugha left the game, Stanford Routt took over, and Romo hit Roy Williams for 12 yards. A few plays later, Routt was penalized for a hold covering Williams. On their second drive, Dallas has set the tone with a nice quick pace, changing the cadence and snap count and keeping the Raiders off balance. Patrick Crayton surprised everyone on the Raider defense with a 13-yard end around rush. The Cowboys have nice rhythm on offense, but a hold along the offensive line, nullifies a touchdown run and pushes the ball back to the 11-yard line. Two plays later, Romo hits Jason Witten for an 11-yard touchdown toss. The Raider show blitz on the play, drop back 7 into coverage, and Romo maneuvers around in the backfield to evade pressure and find the pro-bowl tight end. After the Raiders took a 3-0 lead, the defense yields to Jason Garret’s attack, allowing Dallas to go 71 yards on 9 plays to take a 7-3 lead.
Justin Miller returns his first kickoff for 17 yards to the 20-yard line.
On the first play of the Raiders second drive, Keith Brooking blitzed, and mauled JaMarcus Russell, as he went through the line cleanly and sacked the QB for an 11 yard loss. Darren McFadden looked explosive on his first carry for 13 yards. On 3rd and 8, the Raiders converted when Russell threw a perfect out patter to Schilens for 16 yards. On the next play, Russell ran for 17 yards, scrambling after the play breaks down, showing very good decisiveness in taking off for the big gain. Russell again tries to hit Heyward-Bey deep, this time on a 2-step drop and fade pattern, which fell incomplete. Carlisle is penalized again, this time for a false start. On 2nd and 15, Dallas collapses the pocket and knocks down Russell’s pass at the line of scrimmage. The Raiders pick up 9 on a screen to McFadden; Shane Lechler comes on for the punt as the drive ends at the Dallas 39 yard line.
Lechler drops the ball on the Dallas 5 yard line, downed by RB Gary Russell.
As the 1st quarter clock runs out, McFadden breaks off a 45 yard run. Bruce Gradkowski is now at QB.
Score after the 1st Quarter: Cowboys 7 – Raiders 3
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
