BUEHLER BOOTS BOLTS- Much-maligned Cowboys' kicker David Buehler finally got a taste of coming through in the big moments this week against the San Diego Chargers, booting a successful 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Cowboys over the San Diego Chargers by the count of 33 to 31.
Buehler's game-winner was set up by a 66-yard desperation heave from Stephen McGee to receiver Jesse Holley, who somehow managed to come down with the pass after a couple of bobbles in a sea of Chargers' defenders.
"It was a crazy play," Holley said of his catch. "Honestly, Steve [McGee] probably shouldn't have thrown the ball my way, but everyone in the secondary was playing deep, the ball bounced my way, and I was able to make a play." He also laughed "Lady Luck was shining on us on that play!"
Buehler's 3-for-3 kicking performance pulls him back even with rookie Dan Bailey for hold of the Cowboys' lone job at kicker; both are now 3-for-4 on the preseason.
For the day, the most impressive performance amongst those fighting for roster spots was had by receiver Dwayne Harris, who caught six passes for 62 yards, all in the second half, and he showed a knack for breaking tackles and getting downfield as well. Though he has yet to start a game, Harris and teammate Kevin Ogletree are in a dead heat for the job at starting slot receiver.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, running back Demarco Murray seemed to be having trouble getting anything going on this day; he finished with only 15 yards on eight carries, and though he caught four passes he could only add 21 more yards through the air.
Asked about his performance after the game, Cowboys' head coach Jason Garrett remained confident in Murray. "I think he was a bit tentative out there today, sure," he said. "That said, he's still got a bit of time to get a feel for how things are going and to get his confidence up. I think with another good week of practice that he'll be more ready to contribute this upcoming week and certainly in time for the regular season."
Finally, two injuries hit the Cowboys on this day: fifth-round draft choice CB Josh Thomas will miss the season after being placed on Injured Reserve with a broken forearm, and reserve linebacker Victor Butler suffered a herniated disk and will miss seven weeks of games.
The Cowboys travel to Minneapolis next week to take on Donovan McNabb and the Minnesota Vikings in the "dress rehearsal" preseason game.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Dez Bryant hauls in a long touchdown from Jon Kitna
| Aug 20, 2011 - SD at DAL |
| TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| San Diego Chargers (1-0) | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 31 |
| Dallas Cowboys (1-0) | 10 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 33 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| SD | | DAL |
| 599 | Total Offense | 480 |
| 167 | Rushing Yards | 166 |
| 432 | Passing Yards | 314 |
| 27 | First Downs | 19 |
| 31 | Punt Return Yards | 9 |
| 0 | Kick Return Yards | 112 |
| 630 | Total Yards | 601 |
| 5 | Turnovers | 2 |
| 7/16 | 3rd Down Converstion | 7/16 |
| 1/1 | 4th Down Conversion | 0/0 |
| 0/0 | 2-Point Conversion | 0/0 |
| 4/1 | Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 0/2 |
| 0-0 | Penalties | 3-26 |
| 28:12 | Posession Time | 31:48 |
| San Diego Chargers Boxscore |
| PASSING | RATING | C/ATT | YDS | TD/INT | AVG |
| Philip Rivers | 111.7 | 13/17 | 228 | 2/2 | 12.6 |
| Billy Volek | 49.2 | 16/29 | 208 | 0/2 | 7.1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
| Ryan Mathews | 15 | 98 | 6.5 | 2 | 23 |
| Mike Tolbert | 15 | 64 | 4.2 | 0 | 24 |
| Curtis Brinkley | 3 | 5 | 1.6 | 0 | 5 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
| Antonio Gates | 8 | 81 | 10.1 | 2 | 17 |
| Vincent Jackson | 3 | 29 | 9.6 | 0 | 12 |
| Kelley Washington | 3 | 60 | 20.0 | 0 | 35 |
| Randy McMichael | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 0 | 35 |
| Malcom Floyd | 3 | 125 | 41.6 | 0 | 75 |
| Laurent Robinson | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Vincent Brown | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 0 | 21 |
| Patrick Crayton | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Tolbert | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Kory Sperry | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| KICKING | FGM/A | PCT | LONG | XPM/A | PTS |
| Mike Scifres | 1/2 | 50.0 | 21 | 1/1 | 4 |
| Nate Kaeding | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3/3 | 3 |
| Dallas Cowboys Boxscore |
| PASSING | RATING | C/ATT | YDS | TD/INT | AVG |
| Stephen McGee | 50.2 | 12/20 | 181 | 0/2 | 9.0 |
| Jon Kitna | 133.3 | 9/11 | 96 | 0/0 | 8.7 |
| Tony Romo | 95.8 | 7/8 | 56 | 0/0 | 7.0 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
| Demarco Murray | 8 | 15 | 1.8 | 0 | 12 |
| Tashard Choice | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Felix Jones | 5 | 79 | 15.8 | 1 | 56T |
| Phillip Tanner | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 0 | 18 |
| Lonyae Miller | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 11 |
| Dwayne Harris | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
| Dwayne Harris | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 0 | 14 |
| Demarco Murray | 4 | 21 | 5.2 | 0 | 18 |
| Dez Bryant | 4 | 64 | 16 | 1 | 37T |
| Kevin Ogletree | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Jesse Holley | 2 | 73 | 36.5 | 0 | 66 |
| John Phillips | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 |
| Martellus Bennett | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Lonyae Miller | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Shaun Chapas | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 |
| Felix Jones | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 18 |
| BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK |
| Kyle Kosier | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Kowalski | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Nagy | 0 | 1 |
| KICKING | FGM/A | PCT | LONG | XPM/A | PTS |
| David Buehler | 3/3 | 100 | 48 | 0/0 | 9 |
| Dan Bailey | 1/1 | 100 | 29 | 3/3 | 6 |