Dallas Cowboys 32 - 18 Los Angeles Chargers, Turpin’s two punt return TDs, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Preseason Week 2

That's it for our coverage of the Cowboys at Chargers preseason week 2 game. Thanks for joining us! We'll be covering the Cowboys preseason game 3 against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, August 27 right here on AS USA. Make sure to check it out! 

DiNucci takes that knee and time runs out to end the game. Cowboys WIN, 32-18 over the Chargers

Daniel is able to get LA down the field and it's Bandy who gets the TD pass in the end zone. They go for 2 and it's Nabers who catches it to make the extra two. The Chargers get another score before the end of the game with 1:27 left.

Two-minute warning

Daniel to Bandy for 17 yards and a first down and another 6-yard gain by Brown takes them to the Dallas 10 

Daniel gets SACKED for a loss of 8 to set the Chargers back to 3rd and 18 at the Chargers 47, but he throws a deep pass to Moore for 19 yards and just gets the first down.

Ben DiNucci scrambles away from a sack but FUMBLES the ball and then recovers it again, throws a complete pass to WR Hendershot but there's no gain and that was 4th and 3, so they punt it right back to the Chargers.

The Chargers are held to 4th and 21. They punt it back and Drummond makes the fair catch.

Daniel is SACKED by Bryant for a loss of 8 on their first drive after the Chargers get the ball back.

Maher 61-yard field goal attempt is no good, just short

Dallas doesn't get far, they're brought to 4th and 2 and they're going to attempt a 61-yard field goal by Brett Maher...

Ben DiNucci comes in at QB for the Cowboys and he makes a 4-yard pass to McKeon on his first drive.

Drummond is in to make the punt return for the Cowboys this time as they give Turpin a rest. Drummond picks up 5 yards.

The Chargers are held to 4th and 5 at their own 12 and punt it away again

Grier's deep pass to Smith sets up Dallas in field goal range and it's d Hajrullahu's who makes the 35-yard attempt. The Cowboys' kicker battle continues as no one has really stood out in training camp so far. 

Already in the red zone, Dallas is held to 4th and 3 and Hajrullahu's 35-yard field goal attempt is GOOD.

Grier throws a deep pass complete to Smith for 32 yards to bring Dallas to the Chargers 24 and the 1st down and they quickly get into the red zone.

And that will take us to the end of the third quarter

Grier makes a pass attempt at 3rd and 2 and it's batted down, nearly picked, by Kemp. Cowboys go for it at 4th down and Grier scrambles for an 11-yard run to get them the 1st down

Daniel attempts a pass to Reed but it's broken up by Mosley. Cowboys will get the ball back at their own 26.

After making the 4th down conversion, the Chargers get held again to 3rd and 4 but a False Start call puts them back further to 3rd and 9. Daniel makes a pass to Brown for 7 yards to put them at 4th and 2 and they'll go for it another time. 

Daniel makes the 4th down conversion with another pass completion to Bandy

The Dallas D holds the Chargers to 4th and 5 but they'll go for it 

Daniel converts on 3rd and 9 with a pass to Bandy to LA 32

Grier is SACKED at 3rd and 6, puts them back to 4th and 13 and the Cowboys give it back to the Chargers again 

Grier pass to Smith for 19 yards gets them a first down right off the bat

Cowboys defense put the pressure on Daniel and he throws it away at 3rd and 6, forcing the Chargers to 4th down and they punt it away

RB Isaiah Spiller limps off the field 

On the punt return, Bradford gets 8 yards. Chase Daniel comes in at QB for the Chargers.

TWO penalties on Dallas' Jones puts them at 3rd and 19. They now have 8 penalties in the 3rd quarter. They are held to 4th down after that and will punt it back to LA.

The Cowboys start out on offense to start the second quarter and give Thomas a chance at punt returner this time after Turpin proved himself. It's a touchback, so he doesn't get an opportunity to run it. Grier is still in at QB.

Halftime 

The Cowboys take advantage of the turnover and Davis runs it in for the touchdown. Maher gets them the extra point and the Cowboys are up 19 with under 30 seconds in the half.

First timeout by Dallas 

Stick FUMBLED the ball and Dallas' Hill recovered it to put the Cowboys back on offense again

Rookie KaVontae Turpin is making his name known and proving his worth on the Cowboys team with a SECOND touchdown punt-return for 86 yards! Hajrullahu's extra point is good and the Cowboys get ahead 22-10 before halftime

False Start call on Smith, the first-round pick known for his penalties puts the Cowboys at 3rd and 12 and they get nowhere. The Cowboys will punt it away.

Grier pass to Fehoko for a gain of 11 and another first down for the Cowboys, bringing them to the Dallas 48

Will Grier comes in at QB for the Cowboys and he passes to Ferguson for a gain of 25 yards to give Dallas a first down on his first drive

Turpin made the fair catch but a Holding call puts them back at the 8. 

Stick 15-yard pass to Bandy gives Chargers the first down at the LA 45, but they get held to 4th and 10 as the Dallas defense steps up and they'll punt it away.

The Cowboys get down into Chargers territory and it's Dowdle who gets the touchdown. They go for the two-point conversion and they get it when Rush completes a pass in the endzone to Ferguson to give Dallas the lead 15-10 with 8:18 left in the first half.

The Cowboys' risk-taking was worth it. Dowdle runs it into the endzone at 2nd and goal and now they'll go for two - it's preseason, so why not?

At 4th and 1, the Cowboys go for it and Dowdle gets them 3 yards for the 1st down and goal 

Rush pass to Tolbert into the end zone, but he doesn't keep both feet in bounds. Rookie mistake.

Malik Davis gets a 9-yard run to put the Cowboys into Chargers territory at 2nd and 1

A 19-yard pass to WR Tolbert gave Cowboys the 1st down and another 15-yard run by Dowdle gets them another to keep the drive going and the Cowboys are inside the 15-yard line.

Davis takes the punt return this time and gets the Cowboys another big gain of 31 yards.

The call stands - Palmer 18-yard TD and the extra point by McCourt is GOOD. Chargers lead the Cowboys to start the second quarter.

Stick makes the pass to Palmer, who runs it into the endzone, but the play is under review to see if he was down before making it in.

End of the 1st quarter

Stick avoids a sack and then gets away, runs out of the pocket for a gain of 25 yards 

The Chargers got a False Start, but the Cowboys got a Illegal Hands to the Face call to give LA an automatic first down, bringing the Chargers to the Cowboys 40.

The Cowboys dodged what should have been a Pass Interference call to hold the Chargers to 3rd and 5, but the Chargers are still able to get the 1st down on a pass to Moore gives them a gain of 6 to the Cowboys 49.

Stick pass to Guyton gives the Chargers a 1st down at the 40-yard line to keep the drive alive after a few short gains from Kelley

Illegal Formation - 5-yard penalty on DALLAS. That's their second of the night so far. They'll re-do the return.

KaVontae Turpin, the rookie out of TCU makes the kickoff return and takes it all the way down the field 98 yards to give the Cowboys a touchdown and newly-signed Maher makes the extra point to put the Cowboys up 7-3 with 6:05 left in the first

Chargers 3 - 0 Cowboys

The Chargers made it down the field only to get held to 4th and goal, but kicker Hopkins is able to get them some points on the board. Chargers lead the way with 6:17 left in the first quarter.

Stick gave the ball to Rountree on the first two drives for short gains and on 3rd and goal, he sends it over his head. The Chargers go for the field goal and Hopkins makes it from 22 yards.

Slot receiver Carter makes a catch from Stick to give the Chargers a 1st down. Rountree gets a few short gains, not making much of an impression still. Another pass to Palmer gives the Chargers another 5-yard gain and puts them at 1st and goal.

Stick still in at QB and makes a deep pass to Palmer for 41 yards! The Chargers are already at the Dallas 34.

Cooper Rush starts out the Cowboys at QB. He's got to make a better impression than he did last week.

RB Dowdle picks up 8 yards and Ferguson gets them the 1st down, but the Cowboys are held to 4th and 9 and they'll punt it away.

Mukuamu INTERCEPTS a pass by Stick intended for Palmer

Chargers start us off on offense. Easton Stick starts at QB and RB Josh Kelley gets the first two carries of the game for 5 yards. At 3rd and 5, the Chargers were held, but the Cowboys got their first penalty (defensive offside on Basham) of the game (let's start the count now) to get the Chargers the first down.

Chargers vs Cowboys begins now!

Gameday Quick Facts

We are just about 10 minutes from the Chargers/Cowboys kickoff here at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Here are some quick facts about the teams' history before the game starts...

Gameday weather forecast

As usual, the weather in Cali is beautiful. A perfect night for some NFL action, the temperature out at SoFi Stadium in LA right now is 75 degrees and sunny with clear skies. 

Chase Daniel looking for that QB2 lock

Chargers players to watch

Larry Rountree

In the Chargers preseason opener against the Rams, the RB2 battle began to heat up. Rountree didn't make much of an argument for himself, while Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley made more of an impression. Rountree had just three rushes for eight yards and no catches. Tonight will be important for him to show that he's deserving of a chance on the roster.

Trey Pipkins and Storm Norton

These two tackles have been battling for the right tackle starting position since the beginning of the Chargers training camp. Both got playing time in against the Rams last week and both players played well, without one standing out more than the other. Keep an eye on both tonight to see if anyone stands out for the starting spot.

Chase Daniel

Daniel is competing for the QB2 spot with Easton Stick. Daniel was 11 of 17 for 117 yards and two touchdowns las week against the Rams. Stick, on the other hand,was 16 of 23 for 119 yards and one interception. Daniel so far looks like the better and more experienced option, but the competition isn't over. As the preseason continues, watch out for Daniel to keep proving why he should be the QB2.

Dallas Cowboys players to watch

Coooper Rush vs Will Grier

The Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush really left a lot to be desired in the preseason opener against the Broncos, completing just 12 of 20 passes for 84 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns. It's not like this is new...Rush has not been a good backup since...ever. He's been a backup for five years and played like he was a rookie against Denver's second and third string defense. He really needs to step it up tonight if he wants to prove he belongs on any roster (though seems like the Cowboys would keep him on it even if he doesn't).

Will Grier is Rush's competition for the no. 2 QB spot. He was recovering from a groin injury and unable to play last week, but he should be good to go tonight. It's up to him to prove he has a place in the competition.

DaRon Bland

We should see Bland getting a lot of playing time tonight as cornerback Jourdan Lewis is out with an injury. Kelvin Joseph will also see some time, but it's been Bland who's stood out in camp. On Thursday, he caught an interception in the joint practice with the Chargers.

Dennis Houston

After his standout Hail Mary catch and several impressive practices, Houston should be seeing a lot of the playing time tonight and next week. 

Josh Ball

The Cowboys desperately need a swing tackle they can trust. Ball was out his entire rookie season with an ankle injury, but saw playing time against the Broncos last week and has had sufficient play time in practices, including joint practices with the Broncos this week. Expect to see him line up a lot tonight and hopefully prove himself worthy.

Here's that Hail Mary pass to end Thursday's practice...

Herbert and Prescott in the joint practice

Though we won't see Prescott or Herbert tonight, they still got plenty of practice in during the Chargers/Cowboys joint practice earlier this week.

It'snot likely we'll see Herbert in the preseason at all as Chargers coach Brandon Stanley doesn't typically play any of his starters in any of the preseason games. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, however, has already mentioned the possibility of Prescott playing in week 3. 

That being said, these joint practices are like a dress rehearsal for Herbert and the other Chargers starters before their regular season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on September 11. 

For Herbert, it was great practice going against the Dallas defense.

“That’s a good front line that they have up there. To see those guys fly around up close and personal, I think it’s a great job for us to be able to learn and grow from that and continue to compete against those guys. So, it’s been good for us,” Herbert said.

As for the Cowboys, it was Prescott who made the memorable play to end the day. At the end of the srimmage on Thursday, he threw a Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Dennis Houston, who came down with the ball despite being defended by CB Asante Samuel Jr.

“It was definitely good to end on that note, and just being in that situation, end of the game, having to go Hail Mary with the clock running,” Prescott said. 

Speaking of the Cowboys' WR group - it's still an issue. Michael Gallup and James Washington are expected to miss the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 11 and that leaves a group of young and inexperienced receivers for Prescott to work with. 

“This is exactly about that time to work and make other guys step up, take advantage of their opportunity,” Prescott said. “Those guys got to know what I expect from them and how they expect me to throw the ball, so that’s all good things to be worked on.”

The Chargers and Cowboys joint practices were productive this week

Cowboys vs Chargers preview

The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers are both playing week 2 of the preseason tonight. The Cowboys traveled to California to have a few joint practices with the Chargers earlier this week.

Last week, the Cowboys lost in embarrassing fashion to the Denver Broncos. The penalties were out of hand and they only managed one touchdown and seven points against the Broncos. 

Neither quarterback, Cowboys Dak Prescott nor Chargers Justin Herbert, is likely to take the field tonight, so expect to see some backups in action as the Cowboys attempt to redeem themselves and regain some dignity. 

Instead of Prescott, we can expect to see more Cooper Rush and Ben DiNucci at QB for the Cowboys, and it's likely they'll struggle to get very far down the field again this week, considering the lack of depth at wide receiver. 

As for the Chargers, they also lost their first preseason game to the Rams, though it was a lot less sloppy than the Cowboys' game, with a 29-22 finish. Both LA teams played at a high level. Behind Justin Herbert, the Chargers have Chase Daniel at backup quarterback, a much more reliable option who knows how to move the ball.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers preseason game! Kickoff is at 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

We will be here all night to give you live updates, scores, stats, and commentary as the game unfolds. Stay tuned!