Beuerlein, Raiders Bomb Out, 27-17 : He Hits Gault on 72-Yard Play, but Dallas Gets 4 Turnovers

It’s now X-minus-two games until opening day, and the Raiders are still sitting on the launching pad, waiting for the rocket that can send them into orbit.

They had hoped that rocket would be the strong right arm of quarterback Steve Beuerlein.

And indeed for one brief moment in Saturday’s 27-17 exhibition loss to the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum, Beuerlein showed a flash of the brilliance the Raiders think he possesses on a 72-yard touchdown pass play to Willie Gault while being smashed to the ground by linebacker Steve DeOssie.

But does one play a quarterback make? Subtract the 72-yarder and Beuerlein, who played the entire first half, completed 2 of 10 passes for 57 yards with 2 intercepted.

In his defense, however, Beuerlein rallied his club from a 14-point deficit to a 17-17 tie at halftime after his receivers couldn’t hold several passes earlier.

“We were not overwhelmed,” he said. “We’ve gotten confused at times out there because this offense is new to us, but I’m a little disappointed with our inconsistency.”

Extenuating circumstances could also be offered as a further defense of Beuerlein’s numbers.

In the first quarter, Beuerlein, who has yet to take a snap in a National Football League regular-season game, rolled right at the Dallas 13-yard line and threw a strike to tight end Todd Christensen on the goal line, only to have defender Bill Bates arrive at the same instant to separate Christensen from the ball.

As a result, the Raiders had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by John Lee.

Later in the period, a Beuerlein pass bounced out of James Lofton’s hands into the grasp of defensive back Robert Williams.

On the next series, Beuerlein threw a high but catchable ball to running back Steve Smith, only to have it bounce off Smith’s hands to a waiting Cowboy defender, this times Bates.

The Raiders’ four turnovers, however, were not limited to the passing game. Running back Vance Mueller fumbled inside his own 25 to set up a 39-yard Eric Schubert second-quarter field goal.

The Raider special teams had their troubles, too. Lee lost a chance for a 43-yard field goal when a snap was fumbled. In the third quarter, with the score still even and the Raiders preparing to punt on fourth down at their own 21, Andy Parker, filling in for injured center Don Mosebar, was guilty of a low snap that bounced away from punter Stan Talley. By the time, Talley finally caught up with the ball, the Cowboys caught up with him at the two.

After the change of possession and a penalty that moved the ball back to the six, Dallas quarterback Paul McDonald completed a pass to Steve Folsom for the touchdown that proved decisive.

“Anytime you turn the ball over five times the way we did, it’s tough to win,” said Coach Mike Shanahan, still winless two games into his administration. “It’s tough to win. We gave them the opportunities, but the fact we came back showed me a lot.

“I thought Steve Beuerlein played well in the first half. Both of the passes he threw for interceptions hit receivers in the hands and, in my viewpoint, should have been caught.”

If Beuerlein doesn’t work out, Plan B is 40-year-old Jim Plunkett. But Saturday, the Raiders went from the Rusty Hilger of last year to rusty Plunkett.

He hadn’t taken a snap in a game since surgery forced him out at the end of the 1986 season, and the long layoff showed against Dallas. Plunkett completed 8 of 19 for 80 yards with 1 interception.

“I had some cobwebs to knock out,” Plunkett said. “But I enjoyed being out there. No question about that. I wish I had come up with a few more key plays, but that was the first time I ever played out of the shotgun. I was a little late on a few plays, a little late.”

Shanahan continues to unveil a new Raider playbook that features such things as running out of a shotgun on a third and two. But the day’s most explosive play came the old-fashioned Raider way, on a bomb.

After scoring runs of eight yards and a yard by Timmy Newsome, Schubert’s field goal gave Dallas its 17-3 lead. Beuerlein struck back quickly. On the first play after the kickoff, a holding penalty moved the ball to the Raider 28.

With DeOssie crashing in from the left side, one hand grabbing for Beuerlein’s helmet, the 23-year-old quarterback went deep. Gault caught the ball at around the 20 with Manny Hendrix hanging on, shook off the defensive back and trotted the remaining yards to the end zone.

Beuerlein?

He had no idea what had happened until he looked up into DeOssie’s face.

“Great pass, man, great pass,” the Cowboy linebacker told him.

“Thank you,” Beuerlein replied.

These days, he’s taking his compliments wherever he can get them.

Raider Notes

As expected, Marcus Allen, troubled by a sore rib, sat out the game. . . . A hamstring injury to Dallas wide receiver Mike Renfro gave the team’s No. 1 draft choice, Michael Irvin, the chance to start and he made the most it, leading the Cowboys with 54 receiving yards on three catches. . . . Herschel Walker made his first appearance of the exhibition season and was the game’s leading ground gainer with 64 yards in 11 carries. . . . The Raiders temporarily tied the game with a little more than a minute left in the half on a two-yard run by Steve Smith. In the Raider field-goal kicking derby, incumbent Chris Bahr missed from 41 yards out. John Lee made a 31-yarder and missed a shot at a 43-yarder when the snap was fumbled. . . . The win by Dallas, evening its exhibition season record at 1-1, broke a seven-game Raider exhibition season winning streak against the Cowboys.