The 2026 Dallas Cowboys preseason is in the books, ending with a 27-24 home loss to the New Orleans Saints from AT&T Stadium on Friday night. The Cowboys were road warriors this preseason, winning at the Seahawks and the Cardinals but losing in Arlington, and now will look forward to starting their season on the road for the fourth season in a row at the New York Giants in primetime on September 13th.
The preseason finale loss to the Saints did not come and go without the Cowboys rallying for a comeback that fell just short, as they trailed 17-6 in the first half and 24-9 in the third quarter, but tied the game at 24 in the fourth.
Let’s get to a few notes on what took place in the final exhibition the Cowboys coaching staff will have to make the tough roster decisions that are looming.
After both players had the arrow pointing firmly upwards following the Cardinals preseason game, Friday was a very tough outing for defensive tackles Jay Toia and UDFA Tommy Dunn. Both interior defenders struggled with their pad level and anchoring at the point of attack, so much so that it made for a tough evaluation of the Cowboys depth at linebacker as well. New Orleans had their way in the first half attacking the edges of this Dallas defense, and it started with getting good push up front.
Shemar James, Markquese Bell, and Sam Williams all took bad angles or missed tackles on the second level at different times, and yet again in a red zone situation an opposing offense made short work of running right at Isiah Land for a touchdown with Spencer Rattler scoring on the QB keep.
Williams did have a sack later in the game that was a big part of the Cowboys keeping momentum going during their comeback effort, but so too did Tyrus Wheat. Williams and Wheat may very well be competing for one spot on the outside linebacker depth chart. Sam Williams played seven snaps on special teams against the Saints, the same number he had against the Cardinals, but just two against the Seahawks. Wheat played seven in week one, nine in week two, and 12 on Friday night, and was mentioned on the Cowboys hometown broadcast as someone considered a “core” specialist.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer also gave this broadcast a live interview during the game (which happened during the play Williams recorded his sack), and mentioned the sudden change situations where Christian Parker’s defense has stepped up as a thing that’s strongly caught his eye about his team’s preseason performances in general. Wheat was more a part of this than Williams, so look for these factors to potentially lead to a roster decision that will leave the more recognizable “big name” in Sam Williams on the outside looking in.
The other unfortunate thing that happened in this Saints game that could lead to the Cowboys having a path to keep both Williams and Wheat is Marist Liufau’s injury, as he was still out there fighting for his roster spot, but did not return after the injury.
Recently signed tight end Mitch Van Vooren’s touchdown and Sam Howell’s ensuing two-point conversion rush to tie the game was probably the highlight of the night for the Cowboys offense. Van Vooren won’t make the roster, but he provided a memorable play that served as a cool example of how tight ends can stretch the field vertically when not pre-occupied with pass protection.
This is something that’s come up often in the conversation around Jake Ferguson and his dip in big play production, and how much of it is because of the inconsistencies both Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele have had as the starting tackles over this time. On Van Vooren’s touchdown, another recently added player at right tackle, Sebastian Gutierrez, did a great job sealing the edge cleanly, allowing Van Vooren to fire up the field and get open in the middle of the end zone.
With both Steele and Guyton having mostly strong training camps this offseason, Cowboys fans can dream about more plays just like this from their tight ends like Ferguson as well as Luke Schoonmaker or Brevyn Spann-Ford, if the protection is consistently holding up as needed.
With the offense trying to feature Zack Kuntz last week, and now getting Van Vooren in the end zone, the one consistent clear theme is that Klayton Adams (who’s been calling the plays in preseason) wants to get back to his roots and feature tight ends early and often in the pass game.
Not everything when it comes to evaluating preseason football has to be viewed through the lens of how it will affect the regular season, and that’s exactly how it felt watching UDFA WR Jordan Hudson have a big night - a local prospect from Garland that played for both TCU and SMU.
With Camden Brown already grabbing a firm hold of the annual UDFA receiver that becomes a fan favorite pet cat, and still having to fight for his roster spot with Jonathan Mingo seen as the most direct competition, there is hardly any room left to consider Hudson at this top-heavy and also talent-heavy position. Still, seeing the local kid make the most of what could be his last opportunity to wear the blue, white, and silver and lead the team with five targets, four catches, 97 yards, a 52-yard deep ball, and a touchdown was pretty cool.
Doing so in the closing moments before the wins and losses will define everything else that happens on the field, Hudson had a night to remember in front of crowd that surely had a few faces that had seem him play before in college too. Good for him.
_Prior to Cowboys at Giants in week one, we will be finishing out our 2026 opponent preview series, and then continuing these game notes from every Cowboys regular season game and beyond all year long. Thank you for following along this preseason, and here’s to many more game days!_
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