Cowboys vs. Raiders: Sio Moore shines in Oakland debut

See how our network’s bloggers reacted to the Raiders’ 19-17 preseason win over the Cowboys.

Aug 10, 2013, 6:10 PM UTC

Brian Bahr

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 19-17, in their preseason opener on Friday.

The Cowboys' first team came out firing on all cylinders when Tony Romo hooked up with Dez Bryant early and often, offering a tantalizing glimpse of the third-year receiver's potential. Matt Flynn completed just four of five passes for 37 yards, however, losing a fumble on a sack when the Raiders' offense took the field. A Matt McGloin touchdown pass to Brice Butler was the only time the Raiders found the endzone, but four field goals proved to be enough to secure the victory.

After the game, Raiders blog Silver And Black Pride singled out rookie linebacker Sio Moore for his impressive debut. Moore sacked Romo on the second play from scrimmage, and coach Dennis Allen plans on using him in the same way the Broncos utilize Von Miller:

Offering some pass rush is exactly what the Raiders want from Sio. Dennis Allen said after the game, he intends to use Moore the same way he utilized Von Miller in Denver. That will have him with his hand in the dirt as much as he is upright and in coverage.
The 245 pound linebacker has to do the job of players that are typically at least 20 pounds heavier and face offensive linemen who outweigh him by over 50 pounds.
You can’t ask for a better first day in an NFL uniform than Sio Moore had today. In front of the home crowd, getting a sack on the second play, and leaving healthy.
“I just, before I left out the stadium, I played my grandmother’s favorite song and it just put me in a really good place and I was just happy to be blessed to be in this situation.”

Cowboys blog Blogging The Boys was satisfied with the performance of the first team, but noted that the backups and young players have plenty of room for improvement:

As is the case with most preseason games save for the dress rehearsal, the guys fighting for the backup roles played the majority of the snaps. Wilcox, Beasley, and Dunbar stood out the most among those players, but all in all the Cowboys can’t be very happy with the performance of most of the young guys. Things quickly turned sloppy as the inexperience showed through.
In essence, it was a tale of two games for Dallas. From the guys you expect to see every Sunday, there was plenty to be enthusiastic about. From the rest... well, Jason Garrett won’t be lacking for material when the team returns to Oxnard for their final week of training camp.