Romo Shines As Cowboys Beat Rams 20-19
ARLINGTON (AP) - Tony Romo didn't need much time or his top three pass-catchers to show he's close to top form.
Playing only a quarter in what was supposed to be his most extensive action of the preseason, Romo threw for 198 yards with two long touchdowns to Dwayne Harris, who got behind defenders and went through them to score in the Dallas Cowboys' 20-19 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Saturday night.
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Even with another preseason game left to play, Dallas (2-1) is already starting to turn its attention to the regular-season opener Sept. 5 at the defending Super Bowl champion Giants. Romo and the most of the starters likely won't play at home against Miami on Wednesday night, a week before that game in New York.
Their absence wasn't an issue against the Rams (1-2), who lost 34-7 at Cowboys Stadium last October and have been inconsistent this preseason under new coach Jeff Fisher.
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Romo completed 9-of-13 passes while playing three series, pushing the Cowboys (No. 15 in the AP Pro32) to a 17-3 lead. Kyle Orton was 9 of 12 for 99 yards playing both series in the second quarter.
Harris, a sixth-round pick last year now in the mix to be the No. 3 receiver after Austin and Bryant, got behind the Rams' secondary for a 61-yard TD that put Dallas up 10-0 less than 9 minutes into the game.
On the next Cowboys possession, after Greg Zuerlein kicked the first of two field goals longer than 50 yards for St. Louis (No. 28, AP Pro32), Harris caught a pass coming across the middle of the field.
When Harris got close to the left sideline, where it looked like he might go out of bounds or get tackled, he instead split defensive backs. Craig Dahl and Janoris Jenkins ran into each other instead of the receiver near the 15, and Harris sprinted up the sideline to finish a 38-yard score.
DeMarco Murray, who set a Cowboys' single-game record with 253 yards rushing against the Rams in his first start last season, had five carries for 26 yards and caught four passes for 16 yards.
On the Cowboys' opening 13-play drive, Murray converted third-and-10 when Romo scrambled out of trouble and dumped the pass to the running back, who made a quick move around two defenders. But Dallas had to settle for Dan Bailey's 38-yard field goal after Kevin Ogletree, considered a favorite for the No. 3 receiver spot, let a ball go through his hands on a third-and-6 play.
Sam Bradford played the entire first half for the Rams, and was 6-of-17 passing for 64 yards. He was sacked twice and under pressure plenty of other times.
The Rams had only 114 total yards before halftime, a week after scoring TDs on their first two drives against Kansas City in a 31-17 win. St. Louis lost 38-3 at Indianapolis in its preseason opener.
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Their deepest penetration before halftime came after Matthew Daniels took a direct snap on fourth-and-1 and gained 30 yards, and St. Louis got another first down on that drive when linebacker Baraka Atkins jumped offside on third-and-3 from the 14.
Even with that, the Rams didn't score when Bradford had consecutive incompletions from the 5. That included fourth down when Fisher opted against a chip-shot field goal for Zuerlein, who made kicks of 55 and 52 yards.
Cowboys safety Danny McCray sustained a strained neck on that fourth-down play when he ran into one of his own teammates when the ball was knocked up in the air.
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Harris finished with three catches for 118 yards and Ogletree, going into his fourth season, caught five passes for 75 yards.
Just before halftime, Harris had a 19-yard catch from Orton and Ogletree a 15-yarder that set up Bailey's 31-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-6 lead.
Kellen Clemens threw a 2-yard TD to Austin Pettis in the fourth quarter for the Rams before a missed extra point, and Chase Reynolds ran for a 4-yard score.
New center Scott Wells and receiver Brandon Gibson made their preseason debuts for St. Louis. Gibson had one catch for 14 yards, on the Rams' first offensive snap.
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