Saturday night was “dress rehearsal” night for the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, meaning most of the offensive and defensive starters played heavy minutes in the first half of the football game. The Vikings defeated the Cowboys with the final score of 28 to 14, starters for both teams looked impressive.
Vikings second year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been keeping a strong name for himself this pre-season and that had continued tonight. Bridgewater threw a beautiful deep ball on the side line to the newly acquired wide receiver Mike Wallace that connected for 39 yards, leading to a field goal. Bridgewater ended the night a perfect 7-for-7 for 77 yards, and a total 111.9 passer rating.
While on the other side, the scenario was quite similar. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo ended the night with two touchdown passes, one to Terrance Williams for 60 yards to the house and another to the undrafted rookie wide receiver Lucky Whitehead for eight yards. Romo’s night was done early in the second quarter, finishing 5-for-8 with 88 yards and the aforementioned two touchdowns.
The main story going into the game tonight was, who will be Cowboys starting running back heading to week one? Well one thing is for sure, Darren McFadden made a case. McFadden had 37 total rushing yards on just only four carries, for a stunning 9.2 average yards per carry. McFadden looked explosive and ran strong. Meanwhile, Joseph Randle had 15 yards on six carries. It was McFadden’s night tonight and last week it was Randle’s, making the last week of the preseason another opportunity to determine who will start the first week of the regular season. However, all signs still point to Randle for the starting nod.
Watch McFadden's run: https://vine.co/v/eI5BV7QhTLh
Stand Outs:
Cordarrelle Patterson: After a disappointing sophomore season, Cordarrelle Patterson did what he did in his rookie season and that is be a game-changer in the return game. He did just that by going 107 yards for a punt return touchdown. It sure made the Vikings special teams look impressive.
Brandon Carr: Brandon Carr had surgery this offseason on his hand, but that didn’t affect him tonight. Despite limited practice and game time, Carr had a solid night and hauled in an interception.
Randy Gregory: Okay, is this guy a beast or what? Despite his off the field problems, Gregory may be the defensive rookie coming out of this draft class. Gregory recorded a sack and almost had another, but was taken away by a penalty. He also had three hits on the quarterback. Gregory has had one sack in every pre-season game he has played. One thing is for sure, the Cowboys got a steal in the draft.
Notes:
Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, tight end Jason Witten, and offensive linemen Zack Martin did not play.
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson also did not play.
Sean Lee and Morris Caliborne had returned to action after season ending injuries last year. This was Caliborne’s first pre-season game since his rookie season back in 2012.