Cowboys win Hall of Fame game
|The Dallas Cowboys opened the NFL preseason with a 16-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday night. Although these exibition games don’t mean much to anyone but the coaches and the players fighting for a roster spot, it is good to have football season underway. We will take a quick look at the good, bad, and ugly of this game.
The Good
The starting offensive line played well, giving Tony Romo time to pass and the running duo of Marion Barber and Felix Jones lanes to run in. Doug Free played well as the heir to Flozell Adams’ left tackle position.
The defense also played well, only giving up a score in the final minute of the game, while also scoring the Cowboys’ only touchdown.
The Bad
The Cowboys again struggled in the red zone, having to settle for 3 field goals.
The Ugly
Tight end John Phillips was lost for the season with a knee injury. Philips was mounting a challenge to Martellus Bennett as the backup or bookend to Jason Witten.
Honorable mention for ugly was David Buehler’s 49 yard field goal attempt. The ball was wildly wide from the moment it left his foot. You don’t expect 49 yarders to be like free throws, but this was a bad kick from any distance.
Overall, the Cowboys put on a good show in front of the national audience, and in the process put a nice end on the weekend that honored one of the all-time great Cowboys, Emmitt Smith.