|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Aug. 5 10:00pm ET
Graziani right at home in Tokyo Dome | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
TOKYO (AP) -- Tony Graziani took advantage of his extended playing time in the preseason opener. Graziani threw two touchdown passes as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-9 in the American Bowl at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday. "I don't know about starting (in the regular season), but I'm going to take one step at a time and keep playing well," Graziani said. The Cowboys dropped to 0-7-1 in games played outside the United States, although they went on to win the Super Bowl after losing here in 1992 to the Houston Oilers. Atlanta starting quarterback Chris Chandler left the game in the second quarter, and Graziani -- who passed for 134 yards -- saw it as a rare opportunity "I can't wait to come back," he said. Dallas opened the scoring six minutes into the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal by Rian Lindell that capped a 10-play, 67-yard drive. The Falcons came right back with a 12-play drive from their 5-yard line to the Cowboys 2, but Chandler, looking for Terance Mathis, threw an interception in the end zone. Cowboys linebacker Dat Nguyen picked off the pass and tossed a lateral to Darren Hambrick, who carried it to the Dallas 38. Tim Seder made it 6-0 with a 28-yard field goal five minutes into the second quarter. Dallas then ran into trouble defending against Graziani, who entered the game in the second quarter. Graziani hit five passes for 46 yards in a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Falcons receiver Brian Finneran grabbed the six-yard pass in the end zone, and Morten Andersen kicked the extra point to give Atlanta the 7-6 lead. Lindell's 45-yard field goal with 1:05 left in the second quarter put the Cowboys back ahead 9-7. The second half, however, was all Atlanta. Jake Arians kicked a 43-yard field goal four minutes into the third quarter as the Falcons took the lead for good, 10-9. Arians added a 23-yarder just seconds into the fourth quarter. Kerry Cooks recovered a Cowboys fumble on the Atlanta 32 to begin a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive. Graziani threw a seven-yard scoring pass to Maurice Smith, and Arians hit the extra point. Dallas coach Dave Campo said penalties cost his team. The Cowboys gave up 50 yards on 10 penalties. "We had a lot of personal penalties and we are not happy about that," he said. The game was the 10th American Bowl played in Japan, making the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome -- the home stadium to the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball team -- the NFL's most popular home-away-from-home. However, filling the Dome appears to be getting harder each year. Though the early American Bowls here played to sellout or near-sellout crowds, attendance dropped from a peak of more than 51,000 in 1992, to just over 40,000 in 1996 and 42,000 in 1998. Sunday's game drew only 42,178, and the empty seats were conspicuous in the spacious Dome. And those fans who had bought tickets didn't get them cheaply. Tickets ranged from $500 for VIP seats to $50 for the cheapest spots in the stands. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Atlanta Clubhouse Dallas Clubhouse Cowboys, Falcons arrive for 10th American Bowl in Japan
| |||||