Cowboys Down Raiders, 31-16, in Preseason Finale

In a game that was managed more like a practice with situational football and an eye on the 53-man roster, the Las Vegas Raiders fell 31-16 to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Las Vegas Raiders couldn’t go undefeated in the preseason under Coach Josh McDaniels for the second straight year, for whatever that means, which isn’t much, but things start getting important now.

That started on Saturday when All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs ended his holdout and signed a new contract with the Silver and Black, and things heat up on Tuesday when National Football League teams must make their final cutdowns to 53 players.

Players were fighting for their football lives in the final preseason game, and unfortunately for the Raiders, quarterback Will Grier of the Dallas Cowboys did it the best, throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more to lead the Cowboys to a 31-16 victory over the Raiders on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Texas.

Grier’s future is in doubt because the Cowboys already had starting quarterback Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush, and this week traded with the San Francisco 49ers for promising youngster Trey Lance.

Rookie quarterback Aiden O’Connell, who was impressive in leading the Raiders to preseason victories over the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, didn’t play quite as well in this game but still completed 17-of-26 passes for 178 yards without a touchdown or an interception.

“O’Connell had three standout performances for us during the preseason,” General Manager Dave Ziegler told Raiders play-by-play announcers Jason Horowitz and Rich Gannon in the broadcast booth after Chase Garbers replaced O’Connell in the fourth quarter.

Added McDaniels: “Aiden improves every time he goes out there.”

O’Connell led the Raiders to a touchdown on a 24-yard veteran, Damien Williams, who had six carries for 54 yards. Still, the Raiders had to settle for field goals of 44, 62, and 50 yards by Daniel Carlson—who made all seven field goals and all nine extra points he attempted during the preseason.

In addition, all five of Carlson’s kickoffs went into the end zone.

“I had to wait a little bit to celebrate on the long one, just to make sure I had enough leg and it went through,” said Carlson, who added McDaniels told him he would give him a chance to break his personnel record of 58. “I didn’t want to celebrate too soon.”

However, the Raiders couldn’t keep up with the Cowboys and Grier, who completed 29-of-39 passes for 305 yards and scoring throws of nine yards to tight end Luke Schoonmaker and 15 yards to running back Hunter Luepke.

Grier also rushed for 53 yards with touchdowns of two and seven yards.

Luepke led Dallas with 58 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 50 yards and the touchdown. Wide receiver Tyron Johnson, the former Raider, led the Cowboys with five receptions for 90 yards.

The Cowboys built leads of 7-0, 14-3, and 21-10 in the first half, and the Raiders couldn’t catch up by having to settle for field goals.

Williams led the Raiders with 54 yards rushing on nine carries, a nine-yard average, while wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson made ten catches for 122 yards. Garbers came in and completed 4-of-6 passes for 46 yards.

Undrafted rookie linebacker Drake Thomas, from North Carolina State, led the Raiders with seven total tackles. At the same time, cornerback Duke Shelley and safety Jaquan Johnson each added six, and corner Amik Robertson and rookie defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera had five.

Defensive end George Tarlas made the Raiders’ sack of Grier for a loss of only one yard.

The Raiders will now have a week off, during which time they will cut down to the 53-man limit on Tuesday, as mentioned, and will prepare to open the 2023 regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10, against the AFC West rival Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.

The following Sunday, Sept. 17, the Raiders will meet the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., before playing their first home game of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Sunday night game on Sept. 24 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The Silver and Black open the regular season at the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 4:25 p.m. EDT/1:25 p.m. PDT.

Please tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.