Week 1 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 24

What you need to know

Dallas Cowboys

Drew Bledsoe started the game with a hot hand, leading Dallas on a 70 yard touchdown drive on their first possession. The drive was capped off with a Julius Jones 23 yard touchdown run. Bledsoe hit Terrell Owens with a late touchdown pass to get the Cowboys within seven points. For the most part though, it was pretty ugly with him completing less than half of his 33 passes and throwing three interceptions against the stout Jacksonville defense. Bledsoe ended the game with 246 yards, 84 of which came on Dallas’ touchdown drive in the fourth quarter when the game was practically out of reach.

Take out the long touchdown run by Jones and the Dallas running game averaged just three yards per carry. The Jacksonville front seven was able to keep Julius Jones and Marion Barber in check.

The Terrell Owens era has begun for the Cowboys. He caught six balls including an acrobatic touchdown catch on a pass thrown over his opposite shoulder. Bledsoe looked his way 13 times, by far the most of any Dallas receiver. While he was Bledsoe’s favorite target, the chemistry between the two isn’t quite there yet. Early in the second quarter, Owens was overthrown deep down the field on a post route that would have been a sure touchdown.

Mike Vanderjagt did not play for Dallas. Shaun Suisham handled the kicking duties. He hit both extra points and a 32 yard field goal. More significant was the kick he hit off the right upright from just 36 yards. That kick would have given Dallas a 13-10 lead near the end of the third quarter.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville started off the game very slow. They managed just 26 yards on their first four drives. Byron Leftwich seemed to come alive after getting speared by Roy Williams in the second quarter. He threw for 237 yards and a touchdown. Leftwich also ran one in from the three yard line that gave the Jaguars the lead for good. After getting outplayed in the first quarter, Leftwich got the Jaguars on track and led Jacksonville on four scoring drives.

Fred Taylor scored on a five yard run with just 3:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. His touchdown sealed the victory for the Jaguars. He worked hard for his 74 rushing yards but looked good with some nice cuts to avoid Dallas defenders.

Matt Jones led the Jacksonville receivers with 71 yards on five catches. Four of those catches came on consecutive plays on a drive late in the third quarter. The only receiving touchdown was brought in by Reggie Williams on a play in the end zone that looked like it could have been called for offensive pass interference.

What you ought to know

QB Drew Bledsoe, Pass: 16 - 33 - 246 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0

Bledsoe had time in the pocket early on in the game and was able to complete some throws. The first two Dallas drives led to a 10-0 lead for the Cowboys. The Jaguars’ defense finally came to life and was able to get pressure on him. He threw three interceptions in the game. One of them was near the end of the second quarter when Dallas had a chance to go into the locker room with the lead. Instead, the Jaguars turned the interception into points with a touchdown pass with just 12 seconds to go in the half. Bledsoe did have a touchdown called back due to pass interference on Jason Witten. It was reported that Bledsoe was seen stretching his back on the sidelines and taking warm up throws. The Cowboys said he was not injured but it could be something to keep an eye on.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 17 - 72 - 1, Rec: 1 - 39 - 0 (2 targets)

Jones opened the scoring with a touchdown run right up the middle for 23 yards. On the following drive, Bledsoe hit Jones down the left sideline for 39 yards. It was the only catch for him during the game. Jones carried 17 times for 72 yards. Besides his 23 yard run, he didn’t find much running room the rest of the game.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 3 - 13 - 0, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (4 targets)

Barber was used mostly as a change of pace back. He ended up with three carries for 13 yards and two catches for 13 yards. He made an impressive move to bounce to the outside to convert on a fourth and one at the Jacksonville 24 yard line. He picked up eight yards on the play but the drive ended on the missed field goal by Suisham.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 80 - 1 (13 targets)

Owens put up nice numbers for his first game with the Cowboys. He finished with six catches for 80 yards. He pulled in a 21 yard touchdown pass that Bledsoe threw to the inside after he had made his cut to the corner. He made a nice adjustment to make the catch over his opposite shoulder. In a missed opportunity, Owens had the defense beat deep down the middle but Bledsoe overthrew him. Owens showed no signs of the hamstring injury that plagued him during the preseason. On a couple of passes, he was able to shake off defenders and gain yards after the catch.

WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 4 - 81 - 0 (7 targets)

Glenn ended up with decent numbers but was held in check for most of the game. He had 81 yards overall with 51 of those yards coming on a long pass in the fourth quarter when Dallas was trying to come back from a two touchdown deficit.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (9 targets)

Witten was thrown to nine times but only had three catches for 33 yards. His most significant play in this game was on a play where it appeared he caught a ten yard touchdown. The play was called back for offensive pass interference since Witten pushed off as he settled in the front of the end zone.

PK Shaun Suisham 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points

Suisham clunked one off the right upright on a 36 yard field goal. He did hit from 32 yards and made both extra point attempts.

DAL Rush Defense

The Dallas defense held the Jaguars to 78 yards on the ground but did give up two short rushing touchdowns. In 32 attempts, the Jaguars’ longest run was just ten yards. At just 2.4 yards per carry, Jacksonville used the running game to control the clock. Jacksonville held on to the ball for almost nine minutes more than Dallas.

DAL Pass Defense

The Cowboys' pass defense was unable to shut down Leftwich and the Jaguars receivers. They did have an interception but gave up 237 yards, one passing touchdown and only got one sack. Leftwich was given plenty of time to throw the ball and completed 68% of his passes, going 23 of 34.

QB Byron Leftwich, Pass: 23 - 34 - 237 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 7 - 1

Leftwich started off slow but put together a good game by the time it was all over. Leftwich converted on 23 of 34 passes with one passing touchdown and also ran one in as well. He spread the ball around to five different receivers, throwing for 237 yards in the process. His touchdown pass to Reggie Williams at the end of the first half turned the game in Jacksonville’s favor. Leftwich moved the Jaguars effectively in the second half.

RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 21 - 74 - 1, Rec: 6 - 41 - 0 (6 targets)

Taylor carried 21 times for 74 yards and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 41 yards. His 115 total yards allowed the Jaguars to control the clock in the second half. He had 15 touches in the second half. Taylor looked healthy and ran hard.

RB LaBrandon Toefield, Rush: 3 - -5 - 0

Toefield was in the game on a couple of drives in the second half to give Fred Taylor a rest. He carried three times for -5 yards.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets)

Jones-Drew carried the ball three times for eight yards. He was also targeted twice but didn’t catch either pass.

WR Matt Jones, Rush: 1 - -6 - 0, Rec: 5 - 71 - 0 (9 targets)

Jones caught five passes for 71 yards. Leftwich looked his way nine times in the game including hooking up with him four straight times on their third scoring drive. The Jaguars tried running Jones on an end run but it resulted in a six yard loss.

WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 6 - 47 - 1 (7 targets)

Williams caught nearly everything that came his way, making 6 receptions for 67 yards, including a six yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.

WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 3 - 58 - 0 (5 targets)

Wilford caught three passes for 58 yards on five total looks by Byron Leftwich. Leftwich hit Wilford on a 30 yard pass early in the second quarter. That play seemed to get the Jaguars on track and led to their first points of the game, a 35 yard field goal.

TE George Wrighster, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (5 targets)

Wrighster was thrown to five times, all in the first half. He caught three passes for 20 yards. Wrighster was injured early in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game.

PK Josh Scobee 1 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points

Scobee hit from 35 yards but missed a 49 yard field goal, wide left. He made all three extra points.

JAX Rush Defense

The first Dallas touchdown was on a 23 yard run right up the middle. After that run, the Jaguars rush defense held their ground and only gave up 65 yards on 21 more rushing attempts.

JAX Pass Defense

The Jaguars picked off Bledsoe three times and sacked him twice. They gave up one passing touchdown. The defense played a pretty clean game with only one penalty for defensive pass interference. On the final drive of the game, the Jaguars picked off Bledsoe but the officials reviewed it and surprisingly overturned it. It didn’t matter because they intercepted Bledsoe two plays later to seal the victory.