Cowboys Take HOF Game

Football fans have waited a long time for this Sunday night.  The 51st annual Hall of Fame Game marked the first real action of the 2013 NFL season, with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins facing off in an exhibition match-up.

The recently re-tooled Dolphins offense floundered right out of the gate, with running back Lamar Miller fumbling on their very first play.  Dallas recovered the ball and punched it in with a 1-yard touchdown run by Phillip Tanner, to take the early 7-0 lead.

After a 49-yard Dan Bailey field goal made it 10-0, Dolphins QB Matt Moore was intercepted by linebacker George Selvie.  The rookie 6th-round pick returned the ball 75 yards for a score and extend the Dallas lead to 17-0.  Miami would fit in a field goal before the halftime horn to make it a slightly more respective 17-3 halftime score.

Both teams would make heavy substitutions at the start of the second half. Dallas would bring in 4th string QB Alex Tanney, while the Dolphins countered with their third QB of the night: Pat Devlin. Neither offense was able to get things going with the third and fourth- teamers on the field, leading to a scoreless, and relatively uneventful third quarter.

At the 12:43 mark of the 4th quarter, Cowboys’ punter Spencer Benton muffed one, and the dolphins took over at their own 42 yard-line. The punt by Benton netted only 12 yards.  After some impressive running from second-year RB Jonas Gray, the Dolphins found themselves knocking at the door for the second time in the game.  After an incomplete pass by Devlin on 3rd-and-goal, the Dolphins decided to roll the dice, trailing by two touchdowns. The gamble payed off, as Devlin was able to find Keenan Davis on a quick slant to the endzone. Davis’ score put Miami within a touchdown at 17-10, with 9:26 left to play in the fourth quarter.

After a solid series from their defense, the Dolphins would get the ball back with 8:27 remaining, and a chance to tie. Facing another fourth down situation, this time near mid-field, Miami decided to go for it once again. On fourth down and four, Devlin found Davis for a 16 yard-gain. Unfortunately for Miami, Davis’ heroics this time would not lead to a touchdown.  The fish would have to settle for a 45-yard Dan Carpenter field goal instead. Carpenter’s kick made it 17-13 Dallas with 4:50 left on the clock.

With under five minutes to play and possession of the ball, Dallas had a chance to put the game on ice. After a trio of Joseph Randal running plays failed to net Dallas a first down, the Cowboys were forced to punt.

Miami took over after a few terrifying moments courtesy of a fumbled punt return. The Dolphins were unable to cash in on their opportunity, and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

On the ensuing drive, Alex Tanney and the Cowboy’s offense were able to move right down the field, and finally put the dagger to Miami with an eight-yard TD scamper from Kendial Lawrence. The Cowboys took a commanding 24-13 lead with only 1:57 remaining.

In a desperation move, the Dolphins brought back QB Matt Moore into the game.  Moore would be able to engineer a relatively quick drive ending in a Kyle Miller touchdown grab. Trailing 24-20 with only 16 seconds left, Miami attempted a desperation onside kick.  Dallas recovered and Tanney lead the Cowboys into the victory formation, as Dallas hangs on to win the Hall of Fame game 24-20.

One of the standouts in this one for Dallas was QB Nick Stephens. Stephens showed terrific poise for a young player player under the bright lights at the HOF game.

“You try not to think about the stage that you’re on because you can feel a little more pressure that way,” Stephens said. “Taking a step back and realizing all the great players that are here, its pretty special.”

Running back Phillip Tanner displayed great physical prowess in his 10 carries.

“Coming out and establishing an identity. As a running back group that was our mindset,” Tanner said.

Dallas ran for 170 total yards in the game; an are in which Dallas is looking to improve this season.

“Its just paying attention to details,” Tanner said. “[the offense line and running backs]  gotta be on the same page, not what Phillip Tanner wants to do or What the offensive line wants to do.”

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett was also pleased with his teams ability to move the ball on the ground.

“Those have been real points of emphasis for our team, we want to be a more physical team running the football,” Garrett said. “I thought tonight was a good start running the football… I thoughT Phillip Tanner really ran hard.”