Dallas vs. San Francisco: Cowboys' Preseason Week 2 Preview
The Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, two of the NFL's most storied franchises, will take the field at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, at 8 p.m. ET Sunday evening for each team’s second exhibition game. While this matchup's final score will carry much less historical significance than past contests between the teams, there will be plenty to be taken away from the game.
The second preseason game usually fits in an interesting place in the progression toward the regular season. Game 2 isn’t the first “live” action of the exhibition season, but it’s also not the “dress rehearsal” for the front-line players who will come a week later. Because of this it is unclear which of the starters and key reserves will take part or how long they’ll play.
As always, the players' primary goals in a preseason matchup are to get better, build on or improve upon their Week 1 performance and stay healthy.
Read on to get caught up on the news and notes, injuries and players to watch Sunday night.
News and Notes
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Will the rookies continue to show well?
The Cowboys came away from the offseason with three players whom Bleacher Reports Matt Miller rated in the top 26 on his Final Big Board for the 2015 draft.
These players, first-round pick Byron Jones, second-rounder Randy Gregory and undrafted free agent La’el Collins all showed well in their first game action for the Cowboys. Jones led the team in tackles, with five, Gregory registered a sack on one of multiple impressive pass rushes and Collins made multiple impressive blocks in the run game.
"Cowboys La'el Collins was our highest graded offensive rookie after the first week of the preseason. https://t.co/EA8E5CFHyA
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) August 17, 2015 "
In addition to these top three rookies, fourth-round pick linebacker Damien Wilson also played well in Week 1, making a highlight play as he knifed into the Charger backfield and dropped the running back for a loss.
Jones, as Todd Archer of ESPN reported, is likely to miss the game against San Francisco due to a shoulder injury suffered in practice this week, but Gregor, Collins and Wilson should each get plenty of opportunities to continue to show the kinds of players they may turn out to be for the Cowboys.
Running backs finally getting a chance to emerge
After all three of the top three runners missed time early in training camp with various injuries, it appears as though fans will finally get to see the guys the Cowboys will be depending on to pick up where the rushing attack left off in 2014.
Although Joseph Randle appeared as the starter on the Cowboys' first unofficial depth chart, released last week (h/t Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News), that was before Darren McFadden had appeared in a single practice and was still listed on the active PUP list.
Randle was the primary backup to DeMarco Murray in 2015, but the team is clearly excited about what they believe McFadden can bring to the table, as exhibited by Jerry Jones’ comments on Dallas' 105.3 The Fan's Gbag Nation.
This weeks’ game should serve as the first opportunity for these two runners, as well as change-of-pace runner Lance Dunbar, to perform under the lights as they vie for roles in the Cowboys backfield.
Tony Romo’s practice routine
After practicing no more than twice in a row in training camp in 2014, and taking every Wednesday off during the regular season, Tony Romo hit the practice field Tuesday for the fourth day in a row as Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Clarence E. Hill Jr. discussed.
Romo’s ability to take part in the full offseason schedule as well as more regularly scheduled participation in training-camp practices have been a point of contrast from the last two years as he recovered from back surgery in 2013 and 2014. Considering Romo’s MVP-caliber season in 2014, the idea that he could be even better in 2014 should be very exciting for fans.
Latest Injury News
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Because it is the preseason and teams are not required to produce official injury reports, it can be difficult to maintain complete records of all the players who will be unavailable for each preseason game. As an alternative, here is a list of players who have suffered injuries and could be unavailable for Sunday’s game against San Francisco.
| Player | Position | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Tyron Smith | OT | Biceps |
| Orlando Scandrick | CB | Knee |
| Zack Martin | OG | Stinger/Neck |
| Barry Church | S | Ribs |
| Cole Beasley | WR | Sore Achilles |
| Gavin Escobar | TE | Head |
| Byron Jones | CB | Shoulder |
| Anthony Hitchens | LB | Foot |
| Ronald Leary | OG | Back |
| Tyrone Crawford | DT | Back |
| James Hanna | TE | Knee |
| Gus Johnson | RB | Shoulder |
| Nick Hayden | DT | Ribs |
| Dez Bryant | WR | Hamstring |
| Antwan Goodley | WR | Hamstring |
| Brandon Carr | CB | Hand |
| Kenneth Boatright | DE | Neck |
| Terrell McClain | DT | Bone Bruise |
| Chaz Green | OL | Hip |
| Mark Nzeocha | LB | Knee |
| Rolando McClain | LB | Knee |
(All injury information courtesy of DallasCowboys.com)
This daunting injury list should be a big part of how fans view the team's performance Sunday, but it also provides significant opportunities for backups at positions such as defensive tackle and cornerback to show up and give themselves a chance to make the final 53-man roster.
Guys such as Davon Coleman, Jack Crawford and Ken Bishop should get plenty of playing time, with the top three defensive tackles all potentially sitting out, while Corey White, who really shined in San Diego, and other defensive backs will get to cover 49er receivers and attempt to make plays, with Carr, Scandrick and Jones all likely to miss the game.
Position Battle to Watch and X-Factor
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Rather than focusing on battles between the teams as in a regular-season matchup, it is probably more valuable for fans to watch the battles between guys playing the same positions for the Cowboys, vying for their roster spot, or attempting to establish themselves as contributors in certain roles.
Dustin Vaughan vs. Jameill Showers
Coming into training camp, word around the Cowboys, including that of former Cowboys quarterback and current analyst and contributor to the Dallas Morning News Babe Laughenberg, was that Dustin Vaughan was set to make a serious run at overtaking Brandon Weeden as the Cowboys' second-string quarterback.
This made sense of course as the Cowboys clearly saw something in Vaughan during his rookie campaign, causing them to hold him on their 53-man roster through the full 2014 season. However, as Todd Archer wrote, Vaughan failed to run with that perceived opportunity early in camp, and although he played relatively well against the Chargers, there’s another young QB in camp who is doing whatever it takes to earn the job.
Not only is rookie Jameill Showers, who went undrafted this May out of UTEP, taking snaps at quarterback, he is also taking snaps with the first team on all four of the Cowboys' special teams units (kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return), as he tells Dan Turner of DallasCowboys.com:
"It kind of started off as a little joke. Coach Bisaccia (special teams coach) came up to me and said, ‘I could get you some reps on special teams’, and I was like, do what you gotta do, coach. Now I’m on all four (special teams units) of them.
"
This versatility could give Showers a slight leg up on Vaughan should the two be relatively even in their play as field generals.
Both Vaughan and Showers played relatively well last week against San Diego, but the team will look to see who can build on that performance with another quality outing Sunday evening.
X-Factor: David Porter
According to head coach Jason Garrett, speaking on David Porter, per David Helman of the team's official website:
“He got here, worked out at 11:30, practiced at 3:45 and by 4:30 had scored three touchdowns in practice; It was one of the great debuts I’ve ever seen in my life.”
This type of high praise from Garrett should grab fans' attention, similarly to the way former TCU wide receiver David Porter captured that of the Cowboys coaches, merely hours after joining the team this week. As Helman reported, Porter came to Oxnard prepared and has continued to perform well.
After being released by the Denver Broncos prior to their preseason opener, Porter will see his first NFL game action against the San Francisco 49ers, and if his first Cowboys’ practice was any indication, he’s a player everyone should have an eye on.
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Prediction: Cowboys 20, 49ers 14
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With teams typically continuing to be particularly cautious with injuries, it’s difficult to predict the exact outcome of a second preseason game. However, I have enough confidence in the guys the Cowboys can play at the skill positions and the second-half pass rush to predict they’ll score some points and come out ahead of the 49ers.
Randy Gregory, David Porter, Lucky Whitehead, Nick Harwell, Geoff Swaim, Jameill Showers, Dustin Vaughan, Lavar Edwards, Ryan Russell and Ben Gardner could all wind up being difference-makers as the Cowboys look to capture their first win of the 2015 preseason.
Prediction: Cowboys 20, 49ers 14
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