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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Darren McFadden needed one series to show he's in midseason form for Oakland following a foot injury that cut his last season short.

Most of the rest of the first-team offensive players for the Raiders and Dallas Cowboys need plenty of work to get back to that level.

McFadden picked up where he left off last season by gaining 38 yards on Oakland's first three plays of the exhibition season and the Raiders went on to lose to the Dallas Cowboys 3-0 on Monday night.

"He was able to make some explosive gains," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. "That's what we anticipate out of him. He's an explosive play-maker. We have to find ways to get him the ball and give him an opportunity to be explosive for us."

McFadden, who missed the last nine games of 2011 with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, opened the game with a 4-yard run, an 18-yard reception and a 16-yard run to delight of the Raiders fans.

But Carson Palmer threw an interception to Gerald Sensabaugh on the next play for Oakland (tied for No. 23 in the AP Pro32) and both the Raiders and Cowboys (No. 15, AP Pro32) struggled to generate much of anything until the reserves took over in the second half.

"We made some mistakes and it cost us," Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said. "There will be some good stuff to evaluate and get better. We have to get better from tonight's game and we will."

Kyle Orton drove Dallas 67 yards on the opening drive of the second half to set up Dan Bailey's 33-yard field goal and that proved to be the only scoring of the night.

McFadden left after that first series and Palmer couldn't move the Raiders without him. Matt Leinart played the rest of a scoreless first half and completed six passes to undrafted free agent Rod Streater but couldn't put any points on the board.

Dez Bryant, who status was in question after leaving practice early Saturday because of hamstring tightness, came up with the only big play for Dallas' first-team offense when he made a good adjustment in the air for a 24-yard gain from Romo on the first offensive drive for the Cowboys.

That was the only first down in three series with Romo under center. Only two of Dallas' other 10 plays with Romo in the game went for more than 1 yard and both of those were on third-and-longs when the Cowboys couldn't convert.

But the Dallas defense did the job after the fast start by McFadden.

"We just had to settle down," Sensabaugh said. "Once we got settled down and everybody just kept doing their job, there weren't too many big plays coming after that. (Our) guys were able to make plays."

The play was sloppy all around as Dallas twice committed penalties on punts to prolong drives for Oakland and committed another before a botched snap on a field goal try.

The Raiders were unable to make the Cowboys pay for those mistakes as the first drive aided by two fourth-down penalties ended in a punt and usually reliable Sebastian Janikowski was wide right on a 47-yard field goal attempt after the third infraction.

Oakland had its share of mistakes as Chimdi Chekwa let a punt roll to the goal line instead of downing it at the 1 and receiver Jacoby Ford had a rough day all around.

Ford was stopped after a 4-yard return on the opening kickoff, had two passes from Palmer go through his hands, was the target on Palmer's interception and muffed a punt that rolled out of bounds to miss a chance at a return.

Even the replacement officials had their own problems as they spotted one ball outside the hash marks only to have Romo correct them.

The game also marked the first real action as a pro for Terrelle Pryor, the former Ohio State star quarterback who had no official plays as a rookie with Oakland. Pryor missed last preseason because he entered the league late through the supplemental draft and committed a false start penalty before his only play in the regular season.

Pryor completed 8 of 15 passes for 50 yards, was sacked twice and was quick to leave the pocket to scramble, running six times for 21 yards. He put Oakland in position to score but Eddy Carmona missed a 36-yard field goal wide right with 6:44 remaining. Pryor then threw an interception on fourth-and-26 in the final minute to end the game.

"I thought I played bad," Pryor said. "I just could've played a lot better and I will play better. I just played bad today."

NOTES: Cowboys rookie LB Kyle Wilber broke his left thumb. ... Raiders C Stefen Wisniewski left in the first quarter with a calf injury. ... Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden greeted fans in the Black Hole before announcing the game for ESPN. ... New Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie lit the torch to honor late owner Al Davis. ... There was a moment of silence before the game for former Raiders DL Ben Davidson, who died last month at age 72.

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Jason Witten is going to have to get used to not doing much of anything if he wants to play in the season opener next month.

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday that his Pro Bowl tight end sustained a "slightly lacerated" spleen in the preseason opener Monday night against Oakland. The best way for Witten to heal is to remain as inactive as possible.

"It's a very serious injury and we're really taking this thing day by day," Garrett said. "He has to be very still and idle for the next week to 10 days, so you won't see him out here on the practice field. He won't play in the game this week or next week. We've just got to make sure he heals as well as possible, as quickly as possible."

Witten is expected to miss the rest of the preseason, starting with Saturday night's game at San Diego. The Cowboys (No. 15 in the AP Pro32) open the season in three weeks, Sept. 5, at the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

The coach said doctors will reassess Witten next week "after we've had a few days of him not doing anything." Surgery would be an option if the spleen isn't healing properly by then.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after practice Wednesday that he hasn't even looked at whether Witten would be ready for the opener against the Giants.

"We basically were more interested in (the) rest of this week and getting that healed back up," Jones said. "It's diagnosed real good, with the cut on his spleen. He can't do anything or move around too much. And then it heals up like any cut, hopefully he will be back."

Witten apparently got hurt after he caught a pass from a scrambling Tony Romo and was immediately hit from the side by Oakland linebacker Rolando McClain. The play resulted in a 2-yard loss.

Witten has missed only one game in his nine NFL seasons. That was as a rookie in 2003 when he had a broken jaw.

"Asking Wit to be still and idle is a hard thing, that's the biggest challenge right now. But he has to do that, he just has to let time heal it," Garrett said. "Jason has gotten off to a tremendous, tremendous start to training camp and laid a great foundation for himself. ... He's looked as good as I've seen him look since I've been around him."

Witten is a seven-time Pro Bowl player who is one of Romo's best friends and one of the quarterback's favorite targets. The tight end has 696 career receptions, second in team history behind only Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin at 750.

Because Witten has started every game the past five seasons, and all 77 games Romo has started since becoming their No. 1 quarterback in 2006, the Cowboys aren't concerned about him missing some time in training camp.

"I don't think this, at the end of the day, him being away from our football team and off the practice field, is going to be that detrimental to him. In fact, I think it's going to allow him to get his legs back a little bit, and be fresh and ready to go," Garrett said. "We're going to spin this thing positively and say hey this rest will help him."

The Cowboys signed free-agent tight end Harry Flaherty, the nephew of the head coach and tight ends coach John Garrett. He signed with New Orleans as an undrafted rookie out of Princeton last season but was cut early in camp. To make room on the roster for Flaherty, the Cowboys waived injured guard Bill Nagy.

John Phillips, a fourth-year player, will likely fill in as a starter for Witten. Rookie tight end James Hanna will also get more work.

Phillips missed the game against the Raiders because of a sprained ankle but was back at practice Wednesday. He said the swelling was gone and that his ankle was good, plus talked about the difficulty of being without Witten.

"Can't replace a guy like that. I am sure he's going to do the things needed to get back. I am sure he will be ready to go when the season rolls around," Phillips said. "He's a leader of this team, a leader of this offense. Not trying to replace him. He will be able to lead from the sidelines. Help us out in film room."

Notes: Garrett said starting center Phil Costa, who missed the Oakland game with lower back stiffness, likely would not practice Wednesday or Thursday. Because Friday is only a walk-through, Costa's availability for Saturday's game at San Diego is questionable. ... The Cowboys are winding down their camp in Oxnard. After a walkthrough Friday morning, they break camp and head to San Diego. ... Rookie WR Danny Coale missed practice again Wednesday with a sore left quadriceps.

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are finally home, and out of training camp mode.

Even with two preseason games left in five days at Cowboys Stadium, where the team had a two-hour workout without pads Thursday, coach Jason Garrett said the team is making the transition to the regular season.

"We're a different team now than we were 3½ weeks ago when we started out there in Oxnard (Calif.)," Garrett said. "The training camp is behind us now. ... (Players) have to kind of shift gears, get back in the mode of being back in Dallas and get the right mindset to prepare themselves the right way."

The Cowboys (No. 15 in the AP Pro32) spent all that time in California for training camp, two preseason games and two days of practices with the San Diego Chargers. There is now less than two weeks before their Sept. 5 regular season opener at the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

"We've just got to keep the momentum going," linebacker Sean Lee said.

Quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the healthy starters are expected to get their most extensive playing time of the preseason in Saturday night's game against St. Louis.

The preseason finale is against Miami on Wednesday night, a week before the season opener.

Among the starters who didn't practice Thursday and won't play Saturday are the top three pass-catchers, Pro Bowl receiver Miles Austin (hamstring), Dez Bryant (patellar tendinitis in his right knee) and seven-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten (lacerated spleen).

Garrett said the team is remaining extra cautious with Austin, who missed six games last season because of problems with both hamstrings. Witten is making good progress from the spleen injury he sustained on a hard hit in the preseason opener Aug. 13.

"The most recent update on Witten is everything is going fairly well with him. Obviously it's a very serious injury," Garrett said. "The doctors have seen all of his tests, his blood work all throughout the process and he's scheduled to see another doctor on Tuesday, and hopefully we can get an OK from that. But this is all normal within the process of what we thought right from the outset. ... Everything has come back positive for him and we're hopeful that he can return sooner rather than later."

Austin, Bryant and Witten stood on the sideline for Thursday's session, which was open to the public.

Witten said he is feeling "a lot better" but that there is still a lot of uncertainty as he heals.

"We'll find out soon enough," Witten said while walking off the field. "I'm sure we'll evaluate next week and see where we're at and go from there."

When Austin started dealing again with hamstring problems a week into camp, the Cowboys said they planned to be careful with their top receiver. Garrett said there has been no setback, and that the focus for the Cowboys is to make sure not to bring him back too early with an opportunity to hurt his hamstring again.

"I think everything has been really positive with him since he had the injury. I think he's gotten better and better," Garrett said. "We're trying to, as a staff and as a medical staff, do the right things by him to make sure that these things go away a little bit. He's worked very hard, and in some ways how hard he works might contribute to this."

Cornerback Mike Jenkins still has to have another visit with Dr. James Andrews before he can get clearance to practice and possibly be ready for the season opener. Jenkins has been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and last saw Andrews 2½ weeks ago.

"He's improving," Garrett said. "Strength in his shoulder is getting better, the range of motion is getting better, his conditioning is getting better."

Notes: There was an announced crowd of 10,121. There were also 54 former Cowboys players, including Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, who won two Super Bowl titles. ... LB Isaiah Greenhouse, who broke his thumb two weeks ago, was released. The Cowboys have 87 players on their roster, 12 above the limit for the first roster cuts Monday. ... Texas Lottery officials said more than $150 million has been spent on a Cowboys-related game since a partnership that began four years ago. ...

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys have released receiver Raymond Radway and seven other players.

The team also Monday waived two injured players, receiver Donovon Kemp and linebacker Caleb McSurdy, and declared center-guard Kevin Kowalski physically unable to perform because of an ankle injury.

With the 11 moves, the Cowboys still were at 76 players on their roster. They had to make one more cut before the NFL mandated 75-man roster deadline later Monday.

The other released players were tackles Levy Adcock and Tyrone Novikoff, receiver David Little, tight end Harry Flaherty, running back Javarris Williams, cornerback C.J. Wilson and punter Delbert Alvarado.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Ryan Cook was playing against the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason finale only a couple of weeks ago.

Now Cook is a center of attention for the Cowboys, preparing to start in the middle of a restructured offensive front in the second game of the season this Sunday at Seattle. He was already snapping to Tony Romo and making line calls only two series into the season opener.

"He's really proven that he can learn things quickly," coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday. "He did a really good job in the Giants game. We hope he just continues to grow in our system."

After starting all 16 games at center for the Cowboys last season, Phil Costa dealt with back issues in training camp while Bill Nagy and Kevin Kowalski, two other candidates for the job, both sustained ankle injuries. Costa's only preseason action was 12 snaps in the preseason finale against Miami, the same game Cook was playing guard for the Dolphins only two days before being traded to Dallas.

Costa, who won't play against the Seahawks, got through only the first series in the season-opening win at the New York Giants before being sidelined again by his back. In went Cook, who had previously only gotten about 10 snaps with Romo in practice before some quick warmups on the sideline.

"I've been around for a while. I always prepare that way because you never know. You're always one play away," Cook said. "In that instance in the game against the Giants, I was three plays away."

Despite a 24-17 victory in the opener, the Cowboys were far from perfect. Of their 13 penalties, five were false starts and two were for delay of game.

There were plenty of reasons for all the pre-snap miscues. A new center was suddenly thrown into the mix with two new guards, and it was the first game for Dallas since the starting tackles switched sides. It was also at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against the defending Super Bowl champions and their standout defensive front.

"There are a lot of different reasons you can say this was a factor, that was a factor," Garrett said. "Obviously, when guys have more experience playing next to each other or playing with each other, your chances of success are certainly greater. But we've just got to get it right."

Their next chance comes against Seattle, 11 days after the opener.

"I was fairly comfortable. I still have a long way to go, a lot to learn. That's my sole focus here at this point, is continue to get better and improve every day," Cook said. "Personally, I have to get better and improve. I have to do better at communication and getting everybody on the same page."

Though the Cowboys like Cook's flexibility to play different positions, only one of his 40 starts his first six NFL seasons came at center. That was for Minnesota in 2010, when his other six starts were at right guard. His other 33 starts were at right tackle, including all 16 games in 2007.

Garrett said the team has long had an eye on Cook, a second-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2006 who signed with Miami last year after being released by the Vikings at the end of training camp. The Cowboys' interest became even more urgent with their line situation before this season started.

With the 6-foot-6, 325-pound Cook at center, the Cowboys are bigger in the middle. Costa is listed three inches shorter and 12 pounds lighter.

"A lot of times you target guys around the league, and you just don't have access to him," Garrett said. "We've been talking about him for a couple of years, and a couple of transactions, he went somewhere else or he re-signed with his team, whatever the case has been. We saw an opportunity to get him, to add to the depth of our offensive line with a veteran player who could go in and play at a couple of different spots."

Within 24 hours after getting back to Miami following the preseason finale, Cook was back in Dallas preparing for a season opener.

Now he's right in the middle of everything for the Cowboys offense.

NOTES: CB Mike Jenkins said he definitely will play against the Seahawks, though he didn't know how much or how he would be used. Jenkins didn't play in the opener after missing the entire offseason and all of training camp recovering from shoulder surgery. Garrett said Jenkins has "had some good days and we feel good about it." The coach said playing will depend on how Jenkins responds to practice. ... CB LeQuan Lewis was signed a day after being released from the New York Jets practice squad. The Cowboys expected Lewis to be a special teams contributor.

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Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL