Cowboys Country

Cowboys Score Late, Kick Good! - Trail Jaguars At Half

The first half of the Dallas Cowboys' preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars is in the books, here's how it went down

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ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys have looked a bit sluggish in their preseason opener as they trail the Jacksonville Jaguars 14-7 at halftime. 

The Cowboys' defense started the game with a bang, as rookie safety Juanyeh Thomas intercepted Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on just the second play of the game. Thomas' pick gave the Cowboys great field position at their own 41-yard line, but they had to punt after their offense managed a net gain of one yard on six plays.

The offense had looked off for much of the half, but finally broke through late. Dallas put together an eight-play, 86-yard drive near the end of the first quarter, but came away with no points after a fumble by running back Rico Dowdle. The offense finally broke through when quarterback Will Grier found receiver Jalen Tolbert for a 17-yard touchdown, capping off a 12-play, 63-yard drive.

Defense and special teams have had their share of struggles as well. Return man KaVontae Turpin fumbled on a punt return, which eventually set up a nine-yard connection between Lawrence and receiver Christian Kirk for the first points of the game. Then in the second quarter, Jaguars backup quarterback C.J. Beathard punched it in from two yards out to cap off a six-play, 88-yard drive. Jacksonville has 197 yards of total offense compared to 158 for Dallas.

Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush put together a decent performance in his quarter of action, completing 10 of 12 passes for 86 yards. However, Dallas' run game has struggled with Dowdle and fellow back Malik Davis combining for just 24 yards on 10 carries. Tight end Jake Ferguson leads the team in receiving with three catches for 38 yards.

Some of Dallas' defensive standouts include rookie linebacker DeMarvion Overshown with a team-high six total tackles, and second-year linebacker Damone Clark with five total tackles, four of them solo.

On the Jacksonville side, Lawrence completed five of six passes for 36 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his brief start. Running back Tank Bigsby leads the way in rushing with 52 yards on nine carries, while receiver Jacob Harris has a team-high 42 yards on just one catch.

The Cowboys will get the ball to start the second half as they aim to tie the game up.

You can find Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News

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