Jerry Jones cared even less than usual about the Cowboys 21-13 preseason loss Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at AT&T Stadium.
That’s because he thinks perennial Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin does not have a significant knee injury.
Martin is expected to have a MRI on Sunday to determine the injury’s severity.
“We’re very positive how it impacts the rest of camp,” Owner Jerry Jones said. “From what we’ve seen, I’ll sleep good tonight on Martin.”
Martin, who left the game with a left knee injury in the second quarter as the Cowboys were driving for a touchdown, returned to the sideline in the second half and watched the game.
He did not return.
Martin was pulling on the play when cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick ducked under Martin’s attempted block and clipped Martin’s knee.
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Martin, who signed a six-year, $84 million deal in June, was replaced by Kadeem Edwards, who spent last season on the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Center Travis Frederick didn’t play. He missed practice Thursday after getting examined by Dr. Robert Watkins to determine why he was getting pinched nerves so often. Frederick said he has no structural issues.
Here are some other thoughts on the loss:
• Randy Gregory made his much-anticipated debut after a good week of practice. He did a solid job, pressuring the quarterback a couple of times. More important, he was active and playing with a lot of effort.
“I felt like I was prepared to play the first game,” Gregory said. “I understand why I didn’t - and it was probably the best way to do it - so I can’t complain about it.
“I don’t want to harp on the past. It has been well-documented. I’ll probably reflect on it later, but when I’m in the locker room I want to focus on why I’m here.”
• Dak Prescott had a nice performance, completing 10 of 15 passes for 86 yards. He made a nifty play on a six-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams.
Prescott made a reverse spin out of the pocket and drifted toward the left sideline. Just as he was was about to go out of bounds, he threw slightly across his body and found Williams about a yard into the end zone for the touchdown.
He took several underneath throws, which is fine. The Cowboys don’t want Prescott turning the ball over.
“We’re doing a lot of good things,” said Prescott, “and we still don’t have a lot of our weapons.”
• Rod Smith had an excellent day with 13 carries for 49 yards. He had a 16-yard run and a 19-yard reception and made a nice blitz pickup. He’s done everything you want a backup runner to show in training camp.
• Fullback Jamize Olawale isn’t going to get many snaps on weekly basis, but the ones he gets will be important because they’ll probably be in short yardage.
Well, he made a nice block on a third-down run by Rod Smith for a first down and he delivered a key block on Smith’s 19-yard run.
• Taco Charlton continued his excellent training camp with a forced fumble and a sack. He’s playing with much more confidence than he did as a rookie, and he’s been showing up in practice and the games.
• Chido Awuzie made a terrific interception late in the first half when he leaped high in the air to tip the ball, then he caught the deflection.
• “The Chidobe interception was an outstanding play,” Garrett said. “He’s a really bold guy and he has so much athletic ability, but he’s also got a feel for playing.”
• Byron Jones has been terrific in training camp, and he had another strong game with a fumble recovery and a pass deflection. He’s contesting every pass targeted at him.
• Michael Gallup, the Cowboys’ third-round pick, made a couple of nice catches on the five passes thrown to him.
He caught a pair of third-down slants from Prescott, which bodes well for how the Cowboys can use him when the regular season begins.
• Jourdan Lewis gave up a 22-yard pass interference penalty. Anthony Brown had a key holding penalty on third down, which kept alive a touchdown drive for Cincinnati. The Cowboys need more from their slot cornerbacks.