LAS VEGAS — The Dallas Cowboys played in Sin City for the first time since the arrival of the Las Vegas Raiders and walked away with a 27-12 win to get in the W-column for the first time this preseason.
As we approach the 53-man cut in the coming weeks, there was a lot to take away from Saturday night's game. Here are the 5 Takes, presented by Take 5 Oil Change.
1. The center battle will come down to the wire between Cooper Beebe and Brock Hoffman.
With a healthy amount of snaps against the Raiders tonight, rookie Cooper Beebe was dominant as his quick ascension into the center position has put him firmly neck-and-neck with Brock Hoffman for the starting role. It was Hoffman that started camp with a huge push, but as Beebe has grown more comfortable with the position, he has quickly made up the ground between the two contenders. As we prepare for camp and the preseason to wind down next week, keep an eye on how close this battle ends up being.
2. Deuce might be the needed juice.
We saw a glimpse of it, right? I wasn't the only one? The running back room is in desperate need of some juice behind Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle. Simply put, those guys aren't going to be the ones to break away on a big play. With his limited opportunities tonight, Deuce Vaughn found some creases and also created some creases with his quick feet on the outside. I need to see a lot more before I feel comfortable with that trio being the featured backfield, but I like the trajectory that Vaughn is on. Give me one big game back in Dallas next weekend and we can seriously talk.
3. Julius Wood deserves a roster spot in the safety group.
There is a vacant roster spot in the safety group this season in the absence of Jayron Kearse, and while that extra spot could be used at a spot like linebacker more realistically, I wouldn't mind seeing Julius Wood squeeze onto the 53-man roster. The undrafted free agent signing out of East Carolina comes downhill and thumps ball-carriers in the run game, can account for space in the pass game and is a special teams-savvy player in addition. Again, this will likely come down to Wood versus a player from another position, but I like what he's brought this last month.
4. The defensive end group from Saturday night continued to not inspire any confidence.
Sure, this isn't as big of a concern as this was coming out of last week's effort because of the pass-rush additions of Carl Lawson and Jordan Phillips this week, but it's still worth pointing out that the Cowboys defensive line once again did not generate any pressure on the Raiders backfield. The interior played well against the run, specifically Justin Rogers, but the end group just could not get home. By the end of the game, Mike Zimmer was working corner and backer blitzes into the gameplan to get the ball out of Aidan O'Connell's hands quicker.
5. Marist Liufau is living up to his draft selection.
An opportunity to start and play a variety of roles sat on the table for Marist Liufau on Saturday in the absence of DeMarvion Overshown (hip pointer) and Damone Clark (knee), and he took full advantage with his downhill run fits and plays in coverage across the middle of the field. It was a light workload for Liufau, but when you pair his two preseason performances with his strong camp, you have a result that looks like Dallas may not have reached in the third round back in April after all. It's still early, but the returns are promising so far for the Hawaii native.
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The Cowboys will host 2024 "Cowboys Night," presented by American Airlines, at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 27-28. For more details visit www.DallasCowboys.com/TrainingCamp.
