This isn’t your grandfather’s Dallas Cowboys preseason workload. The starters are largely absent, if you see them at all. Remember those ‘dress rehearsals’ in the third game? Don’t sweat it. Most of these young NFL fans haven’t heard of them either.
Dallas enters another campaign, and many of the popular stories have annoyed us more than anything. Where is Dak Prescott on the QB ladder? Can this team compete with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders? What’s up with Jerry Jones and Micah Parson’s stalemate?
Real football can’t get here fast enough. Week 1 features a road trip to Philly, but baby steps must be taken. First, a 53-man roster must be built.
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Four Cowboys earn passing grades from the performances in the preseason debut
It won’t count against the win-loss total for this season. It didn’t birth very many fireworks, but despite a game that featured long periods of boring Cowboys football, we have found a few players who have earned a thumbs up.
We saw a heavy dose of Joe Milton. He’s expected to be the backup quarterback. He took the bulk of the snaps as the offensive signal-caller and produced the following stat line: 29 pass attempts, 17 completions, 143 yards passing, one passing TD, one interception, and a 68.6 passer rating.
Zion Childress and Mike Smith Jr. tied for the team lead in tackles with six a piece, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about these guys.
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Running Backs Phil Mafah and Malik Davis
Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders sit atop the Cowboys depth chart at running back, but you have to love what you saw from Phil Mafah and Malik Davis. They did exactly what they were supposed to, make the most of an opportunity.
They combined for 99 yards on 17 carries and were bright spots for a mostly nonexistent Cowboys offense.
Linebacker Marist Liufau
Though player safety is of the utmost importance, it’s still good to see guys get popped every now and then. Marist Liufau delivered a couple of highlight-reel moment, crushing Jarquez Hunter on the opening kickoff and making a nice run stop during a third-and-one scenario.
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Safety Israel Mukuamu
If this was the regular season, which it isn’t, safety Israel Mukuamu would have found himself on all of the highlight shows. His interception off the arm of Los Angeles Rams QB Stetson Bennett robbed L.A. of a big play in the fourth quarter and kept the lead at a 14-6 Rams advantage.
Verdict: The first Cowboys game provided much of what we expected. The starters were absent. There were nice moments and rather forgettable ones. Guys on the back-half of the roster will continue their tasks of making impressions. Hopefully a more spirited effort will be seen in Week 2 vs. the Baltimore Ravens.
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