DALLAS -- As head coach of the Denver Broncos, Dan Reeves had already lost a couple of Super Bowls by 1989 and was wound pretty tight, anyway. So when the Jerry-and-Jimmy takeover happened and his beloved Tom Landry was swept aside after 29 years, Reeves was more than prepared to exact a little revenge against his former team.
Denver was the only team to beat the Cowboys in preseason play that season as Dallas showcased its rookie quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh, to go 3-1 before a humbling 1-15 regular season. In that game at Denver, John Elway led an overtime drive for the 24-21 victory. Elway completed 26 of 50 passes for 355 yards.
In one preseason game.
To say times have changed does not begin to tell the story. A number of starting quarterbacks -- Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield, Detroit's Jared Goff and, yes, Dallas' Dak Prescott -- have not taken a single exhibition game snap. I was hoping for signs of promised change from new Coach Brian Schottenheimer, and maybe we will see some when the regular season comes. For now, fans can only hope that reports of more physical practices than normal are true and that the 2025 Cowboys are doing something different -- anything different, really -- from the 2024 Cowboys.
Is it just me or does this feel like the Cowboys' version of Groundhog Day to everyone else, too?
Another year, another prominent player goes unsigned probably right until the final week of the preseason or just before the regular-season opener. Dak and most of the starters sit out the games and the team looks listless. In two first halves (never pay attention to any scores after halftime in the preseason) against Baltimore and the Rams, the Cowboys were outscored 32-13 and outplayed by a large margin.
But the Ravens and L.A. have Super Bowl aspirations. Dallas' final opponent here Friday night at 7 p.m., the Atlanta Falcons, is more of the Cowboys' ilk, a team hoping to hit on a few lottery numbers and sneak into the playoffs. Don't expect to learn too much because Schottenheimer already has told us this will be the Joe Milton Show for the third consecutive weekend. It feels like we are being forced to binge watch a show that has no plot and few redeeming qualities among its lead characters.
I have said before and will say again I think Dak should play in the preseason. I think CeeDee Lamb should play. Not a lot but as much as the Bengals' Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase -- equally talented players, at the very least -- have played. Dak doesn't have to throw 50 passes like Elway did or 35 passes in two weeks like Spencer Rattler has done in his new starting role for Saints Coach Kellen Moore. But get out there and spin a few balls, and throw them into the ground if you're under pressure. It would be nice if Cowboys fans felt they had a $60 million quarterback leading the team and not a $60 million rare crystal vase in the pocket.
Beyond that, what about the new emphasis on the run? Miles Sanders got into one game against the Ravens and looked like the same disappointment that the Eagles and Panthers passed on in recent years. Javonte Williams, who has started 29 games in four years in Denver and could surely use the work, is being treated like this year's version of Ezekiel Elliott -- too precious for preseason contact. Fans can only cross their fingers in hopes that he's more prepared for the real thing than end-of-the-line Zeke was.
I think all of these things that will point to a lack of preparation on Sept. 4 in Philadelphia are more damning for this team than the Parsons mess. That's not to say I am taking sides with Jerry Jones in his latest challenge to the normal operating order of the NFL. Other teams get these things done. If he's copying the Cincinnati Bengals' handling of their top pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, heaven help us all. There aren't many directions Jones could go that would be the wrong direction from his late-career Al Davis imitation, but mimicking the Bengals would be one of them.
There are other teams that at least show some desire for first-team reps in August. Daniel Jones threw 32 passes in two games with the Colts to win the starting job. Burrow, already mentioned here, has already thrown 24 passes. The Giants' Russell Wilson, the Jags' Trevor Lawrence, the Raiders' Geno Smith, the Bears' Caleb Williams, the Broncos' Bo Nix all are at least in double figures. Again these are small numbers but I just don't see the point in Dak taking his first snap in 10 months (his last game was Nov. 3 in Atlanta) with Jalen Carter lined up over the center at Lincoln Financial Field.
No one is asking for anything crazy here. Just a sign that Netflix's Team is taking the 2025 season with a level of seriousness that a $20 frozen margarita should get you on Friday night.