Cowboys rally late for 27-25 win over Dolphins in final exhibition

After an inconsistent showing by the Dolphins’ first-team offense led by Chad Henne and a better one by backups led by Chad Pennington , the Dolphins and Cowboys played a see-saw final exhibition game Thursday night at Cowboys Stadium that wasn’t settled until the final seconds. David Buehler’s fourth field goal of the game, this one from 31 yards, as time expired gave the Cowboys a 27-25 victory. Dallas finished the preseason 3-2, while Miami wound up 2-2. The decisive kick came after 6-yard pass from Tyler Thigpen to rookie Roberto Wallace with 2:22 followed by a two-point conversion run by Lex Hilliard gave Miami a 25-24 lead. Thigpen marched the Dolphins 72 yards in seven plays after Dallas had gone on top on a 1-yard run and two-point conversion by Herb Donaldson with 6:23 to play. After Henne and the first-team offense largely struggled again, managing just one field goal in three series of work, Pennington guided a group of mostly backups to Miami’s only touchdown of the first half as the Dolphins battled to a 10-10 tie with the Cowboys at halftime. After the Cowboys took the lead early in the third period with a pair of field goals, Thigpen had put the Dolphins back in front with 12:03 remaining when he hit rookie wide receiver Marlon Moore with a 3-yard touchdown pass on a slant, giving Miami a 17-16 lead. That came after Miami had decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the 3. David Buehler hit three field goals in the first three quarters for Dallas, coming from 51, 45 and 40 yards. Miami moved the ball well on its opening drive of the game before settling for a 28-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter, but couldn’t get much done in its next two series under Henne, who finished 6-of-11 for 53 yards with two fumbles (one lost) and one sack. He had a 67.6 quarterback rating. Pennington came on and, after failing to move the team on its first series, engineered an 11-play, 80-yard drive consuming 5:28 that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline in the left corner of the end zone. Pennington, who left the game at halftime, wound up 7-of-10 passing for 40 yards and a 110.4 rating. He also rushed once for 10 yards, scrambling for a first down on a second-and-5 play. Meanwhile, cornerback Sean Smith’s struggles continued, as he got beat for a 43-yard touchdown by backup wide receiver Sam Hurd, then was called moments later for defensive

holding to prevent Hurd from beating him downfield again. Hurd had only a half-step on Smith, but that proved to be enough as McGee dropped a perfectly thrown pass into his hands as he crossed the goal line. Smith appeared to be trying to intercept the pass rather than try to knock it down. After Cameron Wake stopped Tashard Choice for no gain on third-and-1 to cap a three-and-out on the Cowboys’ first possession, a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty against Dallas on the ensuing punt gave the Dolphins a first down at their own 44. Hitting Davone Bess for gains of 13 and 17 yards to convert a pair of long third downs against the second-team Dallas defense, Henne hit 5-of-8 passes for 47 yards as the drive reached the Dallas 13. The Dolphins stalled there, however, Henne barely overthrowing Brandon Marshall in the left corner of the end zone, then having a short pass to Ricky Williams in the right flat batted down. That brought on Carpenter, who made his sixth field goal without a miss this preseason. First quarter winner: Wake, who had a stop for no gain on a third-and-1 and a sack. First quarter losers: Dallas offensive line, who committed most of the infractions as the Cowboys were penalized six times for 58 yards. Second quarter winner: Pennington, who looked much more in command of the offense in guiding Miami’s only TD drive of the first half. Second quarter loser: Smith, whose struggles continued, this time against backup wideout Hurd. Third quarter winner: Tight end John Nalbone, who made a 30-yard catch-and-run on a pass from Thigpen. Third quarter loser: Thigpen, who had a pass intercepted by Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and was ineffective in the three drives he led in the period. A couple of lineup changes were announced before the game. Micah Johnson started instead of Tim Dobbins at inside linebacker, and Jason Allen gets his second straight start at cornerback, this time replacing Vontae Davis after filling in for Sean Smith last week. We’re also hearing Jake Grove will not play tonight, meaning ex-Cowboy Joe Berger gets the start at center. Might this mean Berger has won the job? Time will tell. The Cowboys, meanwhile, announced only a handful of starters would play. Offensively, offensive linemen Montrae Holland, Robert Brewster and Andre Gurode as well as fullback Deon Anderson started. Defensively, the only starter to play was left end Jason Hatcher.

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Cowboys rally late for 27-25 win over Dolphins in final exhibition

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