The Las Vegas Raiders lost their second preseason game on Saturday as the Dallas Cowboys dominated from start to finish and escaped with a 27-12 victory at Allegiant Stadium.
Even though it’s only preseason, it’s hard not to be concerned after this loss, as Dallas barely used any of its regulars while Las Vegas had regulars for much of the game. That was a particularly troubling fact for the offense and quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.
As we do every week, we’ll be evaluating each unit’s performance in Saturday’s game. As you might expect, the grades this week won’t be very good.
Testimony of the Las Vegas Raiders
Attack: D
Aside from the lone touchdown drive early in the second half, Luke Getsy’s offense was atrocious. Minshew and O’Connell were out of shape, the backup receivers had trouble getting open, and the offensive line had trouble creating running lanes.
The unit found its rhythm in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 13-play touchdown drive that lasted over seven minutes, but all of the momentum was wiped out on the very next series when Aidan O’Connell threw a pick-six.
It’s far too early to panic about the offense, as the unit has a new offensive coordinator and has only played a handful of series together. Still, it’s unacceptable for the Raiders to score 12 points against a replacement defense when they’re using some of their starters.
Defense: C
The first-team defense held up for the most part, forcing several punts and helping the offense when it stalled on fourth down. The second half was a different story, however, as the second and third teams struggled to stop the run and contain Trey Lance.
Dallas went on a 13-play, 88-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to win the game, and it looked effortless. The Raiders had several breakdowns in coverage and failed to get off the field on a crucial third and fourth down.
The defense was definitely better than the offense, but in the final week of training camp, it was not an achievement to be proud of.
Special teams: B+
Las Vegas’ special teams were the game’s only bright spot. The unit started the game by forcing a turnover on an AJ Cole punt. Ameer Abdullah stripped the ball from Cowboys punt returner Jalen Moreno-Cropper and DJ Turner recovered the ball in Dallas territory.
There were also some highlights in the return game. Tre Tucker managed a 43-yard punt return and Tulu Griffin had a couple of nice kickoff returns. As expected, Daniel Carlson and AJ Cole put in an excellent performance, as Carlson made all of his kicks and Cole landed all four of his punts inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line.
