McGee leads Cowboys to 24-23 victory.

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http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=BC23E5C5-C4AB-AF22-9D1BD6B20C37540B

Updated: August 11, 2011, 10:57 PM
What a Win!
McGee leads Cowboys to 24-23 victory.
Kurt Daniels
DallasCowboysStar.com

In general the first preseason game on the schedule doesn't provide a whole lot of excitement, and for most of the night, that was certainly the case. But in front of 74,045 dedicated fans, quarterback Stephen McGee led the Cowboys to a come-from-behind 24-23 victory, a two-point conversion in the closing seconds the difference.

Playing most of the game, McGee went 14 of 24 passing for 208 yards, his primary receiver being rookie wideout Dwayne Harris, who caught five passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Phillip Tanner posted a team-high 44 yards on nine carries.

While the finish was memorable, the game's start held greater importance to the coming season and had some intriguing storylines, most notably the kicking dual between David Buehler and Dan Bailey, the progress of rookie linemen Tyron Smith and David Arkin, and, of course, the new defensive scheme of coordinator Rob Ryan.

The battle of the boots might be the most highly contested in camp, the collegiate star trying to unseat the incumbent. In practice, Bailey's leg strength has been questioned as he seemed to have trouble reaching the end zone. No worries there. Each of his five kickoff attempts in this game reached the desired destination.

Conversely, Buehler's leg strength is well documented, but his trouble on field goals, particularly those mid-range attempts, has brought much hand wringing. Solidifying his case, he was good from 42 yards on his one and only attempt and added an extra point.

Smith, at right tackle, and Arkin, playing left guard, saw more action than any of the other starters, and rightfully so. Both are trying to quickly catch up to the speed of the NFL game. Playing the entire first half, they each held their own. Most of the running attempts went over the left side behind Arkin, and in the passing game Smith wasn't perfect, but held his own, surrendering one sack while playing penalty free.

Ryan's first-team defense had its hits and misses. On Denver's opening drive, after DeMarcus Ware knocked down Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton's first attempt, Sean Lee stopped running back Knowshon Moreno for only a 4-yard gain. But on third down, and with a heavy blitz on the charge, safety Gerald Sensabaugh broke to cover the middle of the field only to reverse course, trying to catch up to an open Eric Decker in the slot. He was late and the pass was complete for a 29-yard gain.

From there, the visitors marched all the way down to the Dallas 1-yard line, primarily behind a ground game that racked up 40 yards during the drive. But with their backs against the wall, the Dallas D stood their ground, forcing Denver to kick a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

"That's always good when you keep them out of the end zone on the first drive," said Ware. "We feel good about that, but there are things we need to work on. ... It's part of getting used to playing in this defense. There are some things we should have done better, and I think they will be better next game."

Romo and Co. then had their turn and looked sharp on their opening drive. Running back Felix Jones appeared in midseason form, ready to handle a heavier load as the team's unquestioned lead back. In a drive that went 10 plays and 56 yards, Jones had a hand in gaining 39 of those, mixing in solid runs with a couple of catches, including one for 16 yards that put Dallas at first and 10 at the Broncos' 24.

"I think the screen pass is a great play because it gets me out into open space where I can show my ability," said Jones. "It should be effective this year."

But like their counterparts, the drive then stalled, Buehler coming out for the 42-yarder that split the uprights to tie the game, 3-3. From there, the starters put on their ball caps to let the depth guys show their stuff.

After the first quarter, Dallas had earned 56 total yards with Romo going 3 for 5 for 33 yards. In addition to Jones, Jason Witten snagged two passes with Chris Gronkowski also hauling in one. Conversely, the defense gave up 87 yards, 47 of which came on the ground.

"I felt the guys looked good," said Romo, "but we are going to have to look at the tape and fix the couple of mistakes we made. The guys' effort was there, and it was easy to see."

"There were some good things that happened in the first half, and there are things we obviously need to improve upon," said head coach Jason Garrett. "... We didn't score as much as we wanted to. There were some good individual plays on the defensive side, and the defensive guys did a good job keeping them out of the end zone and forcing field goals."

Just as they did to start the game, Denver went on the move on their first possession of the second quarter. With Tim Tebow under center, they went 66 yards on seven plays, the big blow coming when wideout Matthew Willis simply went on a fly down the middle of the field, splitting the corner and safety and outrunning both for a 43-yard diving catch at the Dallas 42.

Again the defense tightened up, though, with the Broncos advancing to the 24 before Matt Prater came on for his second field goal, good from 42 yards out for a 6-3 lead.

There was a little more intrigue at the end of the first half when the Cowboys took over with just 1:19 to play, Stephen McGee in to guide the two-minute offense. But on third and three, McGee tried to hit Jesse Holley on a slant, only to see cornerback Perrish Cox jump the route and grab the interception, carrying the return down to the Dallas seven.

Tebow appeared to score on a keeper around the left side on the next play, but a holding penalty negated the call and moved the Broncos back 10 yards. Tebow then put on a bit of a circus show, scrambling to his left, only to reverse course and cut back to the right, dumping off a pass. But three separate Denver penalties meant it went for nothing, although the Cowboys suffered a blow when Danny McCray was tripped up on the play and landed awkwardly on his left shoulder. The special teams ace was forced to leave the game with no word yet as to the severity of his condition.

After all that, Denver settled for another field goal, the score at the half, 9-3.

McGee finally got the Cowboys offense jumped-started on their second possession of the third quarter. Starting at his own 36, the quarterback scrambled for 11 yards and threw for 47 more, including a pair to rookie receiver Dwayne Harris for a total of 32 yards. The drive was then capped when McGee found Abilene Christian rookie Raymond Radway in the end zone, Buehler adding the extra point to give Dallas the lead, 10-9.

The fourth quarter opened with the Broncos given prime field position. After a Chris Jones punt from his own 19, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the visitors took over at the Dallas 39-yard line. A 26-yard pass was then followed by a 13-yard run up the middle by Jeremiah Johnson, Denver retaking the lead, 16-10.

But the Cowboys came right back. On third and six from their own 24, McGee dumped off underneath to Harris, who turned and ran straight up the middle untouched for a 76-yard score. On the ensuing extra point, though, rookie free agent Corey Adams snapped a bouncing ball, Bailey only able to fall on it to avoid more damage. With the error, the score was tied, 16-16.

The game was far from over, however, as Denver quickly went on a 14-play, 79-yard drive before receiver Eron Riley made a nice leaping grab in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown catch and a 23-16 advantage.

That was just the start of the final fireworks. Radway took the ball out of the end zone on the return and had a nice 40-yard runback to the Dallas 35. Behind the Phillip Tanner's 25 rushing yards, the Cowboys found themselves facing fourth and six at the Broncos' 34 as the two-minute warning sounded.

After the break, McGee hit tight end Martin Rucker streaking up the middle for a 28-yard completion and a first and goal at the 6-yard line. Things began to look bleak when Tanner was stuffed and an out route to Rucker went for only one. That was followed by a sack of McGee, the team down to their last hope, a fourth and goal from the 13-yard line with 21 seconds left.

Releasing the ball just as he was hit, McGee threw a fluttering pass to a leaping Harris in the middle of the end zone for the score, his second of the night. Going for the two-point conversion, McGee scrambled to his right, pump-faked and then found Rucker alone for the two points, the Cowboys winning the game, 24-23.

In the end, the same questions and storylines with which the Cowboys entered the game were probably left unanswered, although that was to be expected. Still, the exciting comeback was great for the fans and can only breed confidence within the team. Now, it's back to work with training camp moved to Cowboys Stadium, the next test scheduled for Aug. 21 against San Diego.