Cowboys Win vs. Raiders: Aubrey Shows Off, Defense Dominates

The Brandon Aubrey Show is the newest attraction to hit the Las Vegas strip.

On Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys visited the Las Vegas Raiders for the second of three preseason contests. They came away with a 27-12 win.

Nobody stood out as much as the Cowboys kicker.

Aubrey gave Dallas a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with a 54-yard field goal. But that was only an appetizer for what was to come.

Backup quarterback Trey Lance saw the bulk of the playing time and a smoother outing than last week. In the second quarter he hit rookie receiver Ryan Flournoy for a wonderfully executed goal-line fade, giving America’s Team a 10-6 lead with just over a minute left in the first half.

Dallas would get one more attempt to score with 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Lance handled the responsibility well, completing two passes and scrambling for another 22 yards—enough to set up a 66-yard field goal.

Aubrey made it look easy.

The implications of a kicker with seemingly limitless range is enough to get a fan base excited for what’s to come, but wasn’t the lone factor in Saturday’s contest.

The Raiders have two starting-caliber quarterbacks in Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. The Cowboys defense didn’t pay them much mind. The two combined for 24 completions on 41 attempts, generating 191 yards and a score. The most impactful play, though, came when O’Connell was intercepted on the first play of the fourth quarter. Corner Kemon Hall took it back for six and a 20-12 lead.

There were few other fireworks from the defense, but Dallas let its backups compete all night long and they did just that, holding their own against both quarterbacks and a handful of other projected contributors.

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Lance continued to look comfortable deep into the fourth quarter, leading his second double-digit play drive for a score and the team’s biggest lead of the night. A taunting penalty would push the Cowboys’ extra point back 15 yards – a futile attempt to prevent Aubrey from striking again. The quarterback finished completing 15 of 23 passes for 151 yards and a score, escaping without a turnover or sack taken. He added another 36 yards (before kneeling out the clock) and six points on the ground.

Dallas will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, Aug. 24, to end its preseason.