Dallas rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne didn’t get what he expecting Saturday night in his first preseason game. Not that he’s complaining at all, but the Cowboys’ first-round pick (6th overall) thought he’d get a little more action than he did from the opposing team.

“I thought they were going to come at me every snap,” Claiborne said. “But I just tried to go out and play as honest as I could, not jump on any crazy route, just stay on top of everything, try not to let anything behind me. If you were going to catch something in front of me, I was going to give it to you, I’d just come down and make the tackle, but getting beat over the top, that’s how you lose.”

Claiborne missed Monday’s preseason opener at Oakland after spraining his MCL during training camp, but said there were no issues with the knee or wrist against the Chargers. He had missed 14 practices this offseason while recovering from wrist surgery.

“I’ve just been itching to get out on the field,” Claiborne said. “But I just had to do what the doctors wanted me to do. They knew what was best, and that was just to try to heal up before I went back out there.”

Harris steps up: Last week, it was Andre Holmes’ turn to distance himself from the pack of young receivers vying for the final 3-4 spots. Then Kevin Ogletree and Cole Beasley turned some heads Saturday night against the Chargers, but second-year WR Dwayne Harris made a case for himself as well.

Harris caught four passes for 42 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He also had an impressive 16-yard punt return.

“It’s going to be a tight race to the end,” Harris said of the position battle. “I think everyone is stepping up their game and pushing each other.”

Beasley had seven catches for 104 yards -- most of it in the final drive of the game. Ogletree had four catches for 60 yards, playing as the No. 2 receiver with Miles Austin (hamstring) still out.

Owner not expecting Austin this week: With Miles Austin missing six games with a hamstring injury last year, and two weeks this year with another hamstring setback, the Cowboys aren’t going to push the wide receiver to return -- at least not in the preseason.

Owner/GM Jerry Jones said after the Chargers game that he didn’t expect Austin back for this week’s game against the Rams, which will likely be a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

“He’s not one of the ones I’m thinking will be back,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t discount it, but he’s not one of the ones that I have coming back.”

The only name Jones mentioned on that list is rookie safety Matt Johnson, who has been out all summer with school obligations and then has missed all of camp with a hamstring injury but has slowly worked back into practice.

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