SANTA CLARA, Calif. – It's nice to know that the players on the field feel the same as the people watching from afar.
After months of anticipation and weeks of preparation, the first football game of the year arrives and the starters are on the bench in the blink of an eye.
"That's the only frustrating part," said Dak Prescott. "It's a process to get ready for a game and you do and you get all your emotions and all that set in and get that first drive under your belt and you're like, It's time to go.' And then you have to sit down."
Prescott and most of the starting offense took the field Saturday night for approximately nine plays. The sequence lasted 4:30 of game time and perhaps 10 minutes of real time, producing four total completions, 16 rushing yards and a 26-yard pass interference penalty.
"It's good to get some reps from somebody other than our defense and sling it around a little bit in some action," Prescott said.
The Cowboys' quarterback even completed the sequence with a reception of his own, as he brought in a batted pass on the offense's final snap.
"I just wanted to show that I could catch too," he said.
Just about the only thing missing was a touchdown, as the Cowboys stalled out a the 49ers' 7-yard line and settled for a 25-yard field goal.
"Obviously. you want to get in the end zone but great play by one of their interior linemen, hitting the ball up in the air," Prescott said. "At that point, I just wanted to avoid disaster."
Given the Cowboys' struggles to turn red zone trips into touchdowns last year, the touchdown-free debut wasn't exactly an amazing way to kick things off. With three more weeks to work on the kinks, though, it's not something they're worried about just yet.
"It's preseason, and preseason isn't necessarily a time where you show all your new things, and it isn't a time where you necessarily pull out all the stops to get those scores," said Travis Frederick. "I'm excited about the things that Coach Moore is doing and where he's leading our offense."
