The Raiders’ offense stagnated against the Cowboys in this week’s edition of Monday Night Football. Las Vegas scored its first touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter on a screen pass from Geno Smith to Tre Tucker that went six yards for the score.
Tucker’s touchdown catch trimmed Dallas’s lead to two possessions at the start of the fourth quarter, which gave the Raiders some momentum as they tried to mount a comeback. On the Cowboys’ subsequent drive, the Raiders forced a three-and-out, but Tucker got caught while returning the punt, forcing Las Vegas’s offense to start its drive from the two-yard line.
A false start on the first play put the Raiders on the one-yard line, which led to a quick safety for the Cowboys defense on a carry by rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. On the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders tried an onside kick to try and get the ball back as the Cowboys’ lead grew to three possessions. And since the kick came after a safety, they tried the onside with a punt in one of the weirdest attempts you’ll ever see.
Raiders punter AJ Cole put the ball way up in the air, but it hit the ground and went right into the chest of Cowboys receiver George Pickens.
Raiders try an onside kick with a punt
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Per the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rule, safety kicks come from the 20-yard line, and kickers have the option to use a tee. The setup zone and landing zone do not change for onside kicks. The setup zone is a five-yard area where at least nine players from the receiving team must line up and cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or end zone. The landing zone is the area between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line.
With the rule, teams may declare an onside kick at any point in the game if they are trailing, which Raiders coach Pete Carroll did in this instance. Multiple Cowboys called for a fair catch as Cole’s punt was in the air. A noble attempt with an anticlimactic ending as the high punt bounced right into Pickens’s arms.
The safety ended up being the last points of the game, as the Cowboys emerged with a 33-16 win behind four touchdown passes from Dak Prescott.
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