Monday, September 28, 1998

Raiders defeat Cowboys

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - Those who looked at the Cowboys' schedule and salivated over the possibility of a strong start have been forced to reassess their optimism.

The Cowboys' offense had several opportunities to make the Oakland Raiders pay Sunday afternoon at Texas Stadium and didn't. The result was a 13-12 loss to the Raiders in which quarterback Jason Garrett had some flaws exposed and the Cowboys were unable to generate any momentum from Monday night's victory over New York.

"We've got to be a consistent football team before anyone can talk about how we've arrived," Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said. "Consistency is something you have to look for.

"We have not done that yet."

What Dallas hasn't done is sustain the offensive efficiency it showed to open the season. The Cowboys' total yardage and rushing totals declined for the fourth consecutive week. Dallas failed to score on a first-and-goal on the eight-yard line and a first-and-10 on the Oakland 14. It lost for the second time this season despite holding Oakland's potentially explosive attack to just one first-half touchdown on a pass that bounced off the back of the arm of hard-luck cornerback Kevin Smith.

There were signs the offense had begun to misfire in the victory over the Giants, but any real concerns were lost in the glare of Deion Sanders' spectacular performance. Sunday afternoon, without the benefit of a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 71-yard interception return for another score, these recent shortcomings were revealed.

So was Garrett.

The quarterback's success - he was 3-0 as a starter entering Sunday's game - in a limited role behind starter Troy Aikman created a sort of mythical persona. His comeback victory over Green Bay nearly four years ago and his steady hand in Monday's 31-7 victory over the Giants seemed to set him apart.

But Garrett is a backup quarterback for a reason. Oakland brought some of those reasons to the surface.

The Cowboys were presented with outstanding field position all afternoon. Dallas' offense had the ball 10 times, and its average drive started on its 41-yard line. Two second-half drives began in Oakland territory.

Still, the Cowboys managed only one late touchdown. Garrett was 18-of-33 for 222 yards with two interceptions. His only two passes into the end zone wound up in the hands of Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson and free safety Eric Turner.

"Any time you have a backup quarterback, he's going to kind of look at who he wants to throw the ball to," said Turner, whose interception with 1:40 remaining sealed the Cowboys' losing fate. "We were hoping we could get jumps on the ball because he was going to stare down his receivers."

Garrett's first glaring mistake came late in the third quarter. The Cowboys rode Emmitt Smith, who finished with 59 yards on 21 carries, to a first-and-goal on the eight-yard line. On second-and-seven, Garrett tried to find Michael Irvin on the right side of the end zone.

Irvin cut inside. The ball was thrown outside. Woodson made the interception and returned it 24 yards to end the Cowboys' threat to tie the score at 10.

"Obviously, it was something of a poor throw," Garrett said. "I thought he was going to be outside. It was a miscommunication and my fault."

Garrett also shoulders the blame for the team's inability to wrestle the lead away from the Raiders in the game's dieing minutes. Dallas trailed, 13-10, and was moving the ball. Garrett had just hooked up with receiver Billy Davis for a crucial third-down conversion that gave the Cowboys a first down on the Oakland 43.

The play had three options - Davis on the post, Irvin on the curl or Sanders underneath. Turner stayed in the middle, making Garrett think he would stay there to double Irvin.

That's what Turner wanted Garrett to think. The Raiders safety noticed that Garrett would roll his shoulders back at the line of scrimmage when he wanted to go deep. When Turner saw that, he broke to cover Davis as soon as the ball was snapped.

Garrett forced the ball into double coverage, and Turner came down with the interception in the end zone to give the ball back to Oakland on the 20-yard line with 1:31 left.

"Oakland outwitted us in that situation," Davis said.

These weren't the only scoring opportunities the Cowboys squandered. Dallas made three trips inside the Oakland 20 and came away with just seven points. One drive ended in Garrett's interception and the other in a missed field goal by Richie Cunningham from 37 yards.

"We shot ourselves in the foot in the red zone," Gailey said. "That will get you most times."

It got them Sunday. So did a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jeff George to James Jett that ricocheted off Smith.

When it was all over, the Cowboys had lost for the fourth time in their last five games at Texas Stadium.

"We have a very good ballclub," Davis said. "We can do things over and above what even we thought we could obtain.

"But it's a matter of whether we all become of one mind and show up every day, not just certain days."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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