Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 27-12 late Saturday night. After being held out of the end zone last week against the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys answered back with three touchdowns this week, including one from the defense.

Offensively, it was a better showing thanks to the play of a handful of young guys. Here are five players who shined the brightest on Saturday night.

Tyler Guyton is ready

It’s hard not to be excited about how the Cowboys’ first-round rookie is playing. Guyton played the entire first half at left tackle and looked very impressive. He jumped out of his stance quickly, played wide with his hands spread out, and always got in good position striking the defender in the center of his chest. His quickness and hand usage were outstanding. He wasn’t overpowering and he did get swung around on a couple of reps. He wasn’t an anchor, but rather more of a pesky interferer. There were three plays where he got beat, but in one, he even showed discipline not to grab and get a holding penalty. Seeing this level of effectiveness so early is so refreshing for a player who is still coming into his own.

Cooper Beebe might also be ready

The third-round rookie started at center, alternating quarters with Brock Hoffman. Beebe looked a lot more comfortable in this game. He was more aggressive at the point of attack, establishing his position sooner. This enabled him to lock up his blocks better and not get pushed into the backfield like last week. He processed quicker, got to his combo blocks earlier, and even had one play where he got out in space and flattened the linebacker. Comparing the two centers, both he and Hoffman played very similar as both looked good, but considering this is just the second game of action Beebe has seen, this is a promising sign that he could be ready to take over the starting gig. The guy is only going to get better.

Ryan Flournoy was much improved

After looking like a fish out of water last week, the Cowboys’ sixth-round draft pick came to play this week. Everyone will remember the inside-out move he put on Raiders starting cornerback Jack Jones to give the Cowboys their first touchdown of the preseason, but he put together a complete game. He was crisp out of his breaks and showed good hands, but most impressively, he contributed as a blocker. Flournoy was not only extremely active as a blocker, but also held good position. He understood where the play was going and did a great job sealing off the defender. And when you show yourself as a willing blocker, you can lull defenders asleep and sneak out into the secondary. Flournoy was one of those “who’s this guy” picks for the Cowboys, but after Saturday’s performance, we sorta get it. If this continues, he’s the team’s WR6.

Josh Ball can play tackle?

Don’t look now but Ball is playing his best ball. After reminding us that he can be a powerful force in the interior last week, the coaching staff decided to give him another go at tackle. He played the entire second half at left tackle and believe it or not, he did pretty well. He was quick out of his stand, set a wide base, and used those hands to fend off defenders well. Those long arms went a long way in keeping his man from reaching his chest. He played with a good pad level and secured his blocks. He did get flagged for holding on a play where he got his arm wrapped under the defender, but overall it was a good performance for Ball. It’s worth noting that Matt Waleztko looked a lot better in this one (he did get flagged for an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty), but he’s still inconsistent. Ball’s performance at both guard and tackle positions makes him a better asset at this point.

Trey Lance is coming along

This was the best Lance has looked since joining the Cowboys as we could see some nice progress from the last game. His footwork looked good as he was very comfortable in his dropbacks. His timing was sharp and he delivered some nice strikes to his receivers. You can count on one hand how many bad throws he had as there was one high one, one low one, and one behind the receiver. And there were a couple of misfires early in the second half where he wasn’t on the same page as his receivers. But overall, his accuracy was great. There were a couple of instances where his processing was a bit slow and it allowed defenders to close on the receivers, but most of the time he was making great decisions. There weren’t any “what was that” throws and he had good ball placement when throwing on the run even with defenders in his face. Lance was also very meticulous when he took off running. He showed a good internal clock and didn’t panic. He demonstrated good judgment of when to pull the trigger and use his wheels. This is the first time he’s looked like a viable backup quarterback. He’s getting better.