Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Prescott, Bryant connect for Cowboys
Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant offered a glimpse of how the Dallas Cowboys’ offense could look without Ezekiel Elliott: the secondyear star quarterback frequently finding his top receiver.
The Indianapolis Colts are still struggling to see what life without Andrew Luck might be like.
Prescott connected with Bryant for a 32-yard touchdown on their first series of the preseason, 2016 NFL rushing champion Elliott sat again with his six-game suspension looming, and rookie Cooper Rush threw two scoring passes in the Cowboys’ 24-19 exhibition win Saturday night.
Last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after a sensational season that ultimately led 10-year starter Tony Romo into retirement, Prescott was 8 of 9 for 106 yards in his two possessions. The first was a 95-yard drive in seven plays that started with a 23-yard toss to Bryant.
Prescott’s second series ended on a fumble inside Indy’s 10 by Darren McFadden, who started as the Cowboys again delayed Elliott’s exhibition debut.
Elliott has appealed his suspension while disputing the NFL’s findings that he caused bruises on his exgirlfriend in several confrontations last summer in Ohio.
Bryant’s 55 yards receiving held up as the most in the game for the Cowboys.
Scott Tolzien played the first half for the Colts, who aren’t sure if Luck will be ready for the regular season after offseason shoulder surgery.
Indy didn’t record a first down until early in the second quarter, and its only touchdown before halftime was Lavar Edwards’ 15-yard return of Dallas backup quarterback Kellen Moore’s fumble.
Tolzien led a 60-yard drive to Adam Vinatieri’s 33-yard field goal in the second quarter, highlighted by a 25-yard pass to Kamar Aiken. Tolzien, who is 0-2-1 as an NFL starter, finished 10 of 14 for 70 yards.
Mariota, who finished 6 of 8 for 61 yards and one touchdown, completed a 20-yard pass to rookie receiver Taywan Taylor and then added a 9-yard run on the first two plays of the game. The Titans had auctioned the first two play calls to a fan for charity.
That drive ended with Ryan Succop’s 34-yard field goal, but was just the beginning of the scoring for the Titans in the first quarter.
On the first play from scrimmage for the Panthers (1-1), Derek Anderson, playing for an injured Cam Newton for the second straight week, completed a pass to Devin Funchess, who had the ball knocked loose by cornerback Logan Ryan. the pocket but couldn’t stop his accurate on-themove throws. Mahomes, the 10th overall pick from Texas Tech, was 10 of 14 for 88 yards with touchdowns of 1 and 7 yards.
The Chiefs scored on each of their first five possessions for a 30-9 lead. Smith was 8 of 9 for 83 yards with a TD, and Tyler Bray threw an 18-yard touchdown on his first play.
Kansas City piled up 410 yards, including 228 rushing. Charcandrick West ran for 113 yards on only seven carries.
The Bengals had to settle for a pair of field goals during Andy Dalton’s three possessions. He was 7 of 13 for 98 yards with one sack.
Cincinnati’s kicking competition remained all even. Randy Bullock and Jake Elliott have made all of their attempts in two games. Bullock connected from 47 and 26 yards on Saturday, while Elliott was good from 32 and 39 yards. 16-6 in a preseason game Saturday night.
After losing defensive lineman Kerry Hyder to an Achilles tendon injury in their preseason opener at Indianapolis, the Lions were still able to pressure Hackenberg early on. The Jets managed only 3 yards of offense in the first quarter and just two first downs in the first half.
Jets quarterback Josh McCown sat out this game, but Hackenberg did little to impress in his absence. Hackenberg was 2 of 6 for 14 yards and was sacked twice.
Stafford went 8 of 10 for 84 yards.