Week 1 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 28, San Diego Chargers 24

What you need to know

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys opening drive ended abruptly on a botched snap leading to an early turnover that the Chargers turned into a score. Their second drive was penalty filled with two holding penalties and two false starts. Their third drive stretched into the second quarter and ended with Drew Bledsoe hitting Patrick Crayton on a 20 yard touchdown strike. On the day Bledsoe was 18 for 24 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was however sacked four times for 34 yards as he still has the tendency to hold the ball too long not feeling the rush.

Julius Jones had a quietly productive day running the ball as the San Diego defensive line played much of the game in the Dallas backfield. Jones’ longest run of the day, a 25 yard gain, was wiped out by a holding call. Jones did score a touchdown in the third quarter on a five yard sweep and finished the game 93 yards on 26 carries. He also had three catches for 18 yards.

Keyshawn Johnson made several nice catches on the day including one along the sidelines that led to the Jones touchdown. Keyshawn finished the afternoon with five catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The player that came up big for the Cowboys throughout the game was Patrick Crayton. Crayton finished the game as the Cowboys leading receiver with six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers took advantage of a Cowboys’ fumble on their opening drive and marched quickly down the field. Drew Brees was three of four on the drive and culminated in a two yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson. It was the 13th consecutive game Tomlinson has rushed for a touchdown tying an NFL record held by John Riggins and George Rogers.

Drew Brees was without one of his favorite targets of a year ago in Antonio Gates. Brees finished the day 18 of 35 for 209 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. His second interception was a back breaker in the end zone on a fourth and goal tipped ball to Aaron Glenn. Brees was sacked twice and was often under pressure.

LaDainian Tomlinson finished the day with 19 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. The important thing in this game was the lack of use of Tomlinson in the Charger passing game. He went without a catch on the day and was targeted only once.

Keenan McCardell was Brees’ favorite target on the day and finished with 9 catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He had a third touchdown broken up in the end zone on the Chargers final drive.

The Chargers' return teams look as though they can be explosive this year. Darren Sproles gives the team a definite home run threat averaging 36.5 yards on four kickoff returns. The team had five kickoff returns totaling 162 yards. The Chargers were penalized nine times for 62 yards.

What you ought to know

QB Drew Bledsoe, Pass: 18 - 24 - 226 - 3 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 7 - 0

Bledsoe still holds on to the ball too long at times but he did exactly what Bill Parcells brought him in for. He did not throw interceptions and while he was sacked four times he did make some nice throws under pressure. His favorite target on third down was Patrick Crayton but he spread the ball around completing passes to five different receivers including a nice quick out at the goal line to Keyshawn Johnson. Bledsoe became the 10th player in NFL history to throw for 40,000 yards on his career.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 26 - 93 - 1, Rec: 3 - 18 - 0 (6 targets)

Jones struggled at times to find holes in the Charger defense and his biggest gain of the day, a 25 yard run off left tackle was called back on a holding penalty. Also a factor in the passing game he had a 14 yard gain on a pass play in the Cowboys opening drive. Julius had 26 of the 29 carries by Cowboy running backs on the day.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 3 - 9 - 0

Thomas saw his only action of the day on the second drive of the second quarter by the Cowboys.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 6 - 89 - 1 (6 targets)

Crayton had his coming out party as the Cowboys number three receiver and many of his catches on the day were drive extenders. On the Cowboys first scoring drive of the day, Crayton made two catches for 52 yards in the 80 yard scoring drive. Playing out of the slot most of the day he often was left open in the middle of the field. He showed toughness on his touchdown catch breaking two tackles on his way to the end zone. It’s too early to appoint him the new go to guy after just one game, but this guy has definite promise.

WR Keyshawn Johnson, Rec: 5 - 65 - 2 (6 targets)

Johnson opened the season in a strong fashion making some outstanding catches on the day. He took advantage of a size mismatch and a nicely thrown ball by Bledsoe on the Cowboys game winning drive. The throw was not as good on his first touchdown as he had to reach back and pull the ball in at the goal line while getting hit. He also made a nice toe tapping catch in the third quarter that led to a Julius Jones touchdown.

WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 3 - 42 - 0 (5 targets)

Glenn had a quiet day for the Cowboys his longest gain of the day was 14 yards.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets)

Witten was all but invisible most of the day. His only catch came on a third down play in the second quarter extending a Cowboy scoring drive. He looked to be nothing like the factor he was last year with Vinny Testaverde quarterbacking this team.

PK Jose Cortez 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points

Cortez was four for four on extra points. He also had what may have been a touchdown saving tackle on Darren Sproles on a return.

DAL Rush Defense

The Cowboys rush defense was solid all day holding a premier back like LaDainian Tomlinson to 72 yards. Dat Nguyen finished the game with six tackles and Roy Williams had five.

DAL Pass Defense

The Cowboys gave up 209 yards passing and two touchdowns but did have two interceptions on the day. Aaron Glenn’s interception sealed the victory on a fourth and goal with thirty seconds remaining. Free agent acquisition Anthony Henry finished the game with ten tackles and an interception.

QB Drew Brees, Pass: 18 - 35 - 209 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0

Brees playing without his favorite target of last season Antonio Gates led the team on scoring drives on four of the teams eight possessions. His interception on the last drive was on a tipped pass. It’s too early to panic as he clearly missed Gates who’ll return for Week 2. In the absence of Gates, Brees seemed to lock on to Keenan McCardell.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 19 - 72 - 1 (1 targets)

Tomlinson had a rather quiet day against the Cowboy defense as the Cowboys stacked the line in an effort to take away Tomlinson’s cut back ability. He looked like the normal Tomlinson but the Cowboys did a great job keeping him in check. His longest run was for just ten yards. It was worrisome to see him completely ignored in the passing game. He caught 53 passes last year but was not targeted at all Sunday. He did tie an NFL record currently shared by John Riggins and George Rogers by scoring a rushing touchdown in his 13th consecutive game.

WR Keenan McCardell, Rec: 9 - 123 - 2 (14 targets)

McCardell was Brees’ favorite target on the day. He took advantage of a blown coverage by the Cowboys on a 20 yard score in the second quarter. And repeated the trick on a 17 yard strike in the third quarter. He clearly was the guy they looked to lean on with TE Antonio Gates out.

WR Eric Parker, Rec: 5 - 75 - 0 (10 targets)

Parker’s 33 yard catch on a fourth and 14 with 1:30 on the clock kept the Chargers alive and was his longest gain of the day. He also had two catches on the Chargers first scoring drive. He was a frequent target seeing ten passes thrown his way.

WR Reche Caldwell, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Caldwell filled the role of third receiver for the Chargers on the day. He was not a factor catching just one ball for nine yards.

TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 2 - -4 - 0 (6 targets)

Peele played for the suspended Antonio Gates and made several nice attempts but overall had a quiet game for the Chargers.

PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points

Nate Kaeding was three for three on extra points and had a 33 yard field goal.

SD Rush Defense

The Chargers' rush defense was solid limiting the Cowboys to 109 yards on 33 carries. The offensive line spent a good amount of time in the backfield of the Cowboys stifling any big gains by Julius Jones.

SD Pass Defense

The Chargers' pass defense yielded only 226 yards passing to the Cowboys but did allow 3 touchdown passes by Drew Bledsoe. They often pressured Bledsoe and did have four sacks but no interceptions and a number of costly penalties allowed drives to continue. A roughing the passer penalty on Luis Castillo on a third and ten led to a first down on a third quarter scoring drive by the Cowboys. Quentin Jammer’s holding penalty on a third and 16 from the Charger 37 also led to a Cowboys’ touchdown.