News: BR: Cowboys vs. Chargers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Dallas

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The preseason premiere of the 2015 edition of the Dallas Cowboys got off to a rough start, and despite some quality individual performances, the team was never able to pull itself back into the contest.

The first offensive series for the Cowboys brought with it the first major turning point, as Brandon Weeden failed to handle a Travis Frederick shotgun snap, sparking a mad dash for the ball, which the Chargers won, taking possession at the Dallas 34-yard line. A mere six plays later, Chargers running back Danny Woodhead took a Rivers handoff eight yards for a touchdown.

A few series later, after Dustin Vaughan had taken over at quarterback, the Cowboys mounted a scoring drive of their own, going 76 yards on seven plays, highlighted by a big-time 3rd-and-17 conversion on a deep in route thrown from Vaughan to Devin Street and capped by a five-yard touchdown run from Gus Johnson.

Following the next Chargers possession, which featured a nice tackle-for-loss by rookie linebacker Damien Wilson on third down to force a punt. Undrafted free-agent rookie Lucky Whitehead lined up deep and made a nice 20-yard return, before being tackled by three Chargers, and despite his best efforts to cover the ball, Whitehead fumbled, and the ball was recovered by the Chargers, giving them another possession in Cowboys territory.

A few series later, Branden Oliver capped the first-half scoring, running it in from 10 yards out to give San Diego a 14-7 halftime lead.

As the teams dug further into their depth charts, the scoring slowed in the second half, featuring only a 52-yard field goal from Nick Novak that extended the Chargers lead to the final margin of 17-7.

In spite of the turnovers, and the loss, there are many positive developments that can be taken from the game.

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