It may not truly count or be remembered much longer than a few days, but the Dallas Cowboys are in the win column for the first time under first time head coach Brian Schottenheimer. They did so by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 31-13 at AT&T Stadium on Friday night to conclude the preseason. While coming out on top on the scoreboard in front of home fans is certainly nice, the way the Cowboys got this result was much more satisfactory when it comes to now turning full attention towards the regular season.
The Cowboys came out looking like a team inspired to put a certain style on tape and prove to other teams, or mostly to themselves, they are capable of winning in a complementary way. Their depth players fighting for roster spots showed up from start to finish, the offensive play-calling was slightly more dynamic to put these players in position to make plays, and the defense took the ball away twice and had a sack for the first time all preseason. Dallas also went three-for-three scoring touchdowns in the red zone, a clear sign of progress for a team that was shutout twice in the red zone in the second week of the preseason.
It won’t take long to sort out if this game was more of a statement about how good the Cowboys are capable of being, or much more about ineptitude from the Falcons, as the intensity the Cowboys will face in 12 days on the road at the Philadelphia Eagles will be a night and day difference from all preseason reps. Still, with everything circling the franchise right now unrelated to the game being played between the lines, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a win of any form to some extent.
Here are several of the things that stood out for the Cowboys in this win, from all three phases of the game.
In their first two losses this preseason, the Cowboys defense was able to get near the quarterback on a few occasions, but not affect them enough to not allow big plays. Finishing with sacks had to be a point of emphasis against the Falcons, and James Houston did just that on the first drive of the game. It was the type of big play this defense needed to set the offense back and eventually get a stop, as it came immediately after Easton Stick completed a 24-yard pass down the middle for a first down.
An underrated part of the play Houston recorded his first sack on was the coverage from Darius Harris underneath. Harris was able to drop perfectly into the throwing lane of Stick’s first read, giving him nowhere to go in time to avoid Houston screaming off the edge. This would just be a small taste of something the Cowboys did at a high level all game, committing numbers to coverage and taking the ball away with interceptions by cornerback Robert Rochell, rookie linebacker Shemar James, and a handful of other plays on the ball from the backend, including Harris again on a third and goal.
Following Houston’s sack, the final play that may fully secure his roster spot after also having a strong game against the Ravens, Kemon Hall broke up a pass on third down to force a missed field goal attempt by the Falcons. Houston also had a tackle for loss on a reverse play later in the game, which led to a long passing situation and would-be interception by Troy Pride that was overruled by penalty, and a pressure on a play that defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey finished with a sack in the second half.
Winfrey was the Cowboys best interior pass rusher this preseason, winning with a straight bull rush for a sack in this game, and appears primed to be the latest UFL signing that makes the roster and sees the field for Dallas.
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
The work the Cowboys did at running back this preseason may end up being much, much more about the players they didn’t use as much as the ones they did. The final totals on the ground through three games were as follows:
Deuce Vaughn getting the start at running back in this game and ending with more work than any other Cowboys back this preseason can hardly be considered a sign he’s in line for this type of role in the regular season. In fact, the situation could be the complete opposite. Once Vaughn was out of the game, the Cowboys were able to see rookie Jaydon Blue getting in on the action for the first time.
Vaughn’s highlight of the night came in the red zone on the Cowboys opening drive, setting up a first and goal with a 12-yard run and then being tackled at the one-yard line the very next play. Vaughn got a great block at the second level by Nick Broeker, starting at right guard in place of rookie Tyler Booker who the Cowboys apparently saw all they needed from last week. It was the type of play fans should be eager to see from Booker and the entirety of the starting offensive line in less than two weeks now. This play also set up one of the better play-calling sequences from Schottenheimer all preseason, as a designed run by Joe Milton to the opposite side on the very next play created a walk in touchdown. The Cowboys finished all three of their red zone trips with rushing touchdowns from three different players.
The second touchdown came from Jaydon Blue, who unlike Vaughn was given the chance to finish a scoring opportunity he set up with a 13-yard run down to the Falcons two-yard line. On this play, center Brock Hoffman was able to make a great seal block on a defender that lined up over the nose of Broeker, creating a lane for Blue to show off his burst up the middle. He then flashed some power by lowering his shoulder to score from one-yard out.
Rookie Phil Mafah’s touchdown also came as a reward following a big red zone run, as he bounced off defenders and broke tackles on his way to a 15-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Mafah was in the end zone to make the final score of 31-13.
Not only is this a game tape that offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and line coach Conor Riley can be highly encouraged by, but the Cowboys showed real promise as a team that may be able to run the ball between the tackles to set up shot plays on the outside, and overall put their defense in the types of favorable situations they took full advantage of against Atlanta.
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
The way the Cowboys depth chart has unfolded at tight end this preseason has been one of the most unexpected parts of forecasting the final roster. Undrafted free agent target Rivaldo Fairweather was impressive again in this game, making a great adjusting catch on a back shoulder ball from Joe Milton to convert a third down on the team’s second possession. Dallas had struggled to stay on the field on third downs to this point in the preseason, but thanks to this acrobatic catch by Fairweather, the drive continued and ended with a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead.
Fairweather has made all of the types of plays that were expected of second-year undrafted TE Brevyn Spann-Ford before injury, as well as Luke Schoonmaker and Jake Ferguson. It’s still highly likely Ferguson and Schoonmaker will get more of these opportunities ahead of Fairweather in the regular season, but Fairweather’s size and playmaking ability is impossible to ignore as a legitimate candidate to make the team now. The Cowboys want to win the line of scrimmage, create easy throws for their quarterback, and take advantage of matchups in the passing game. The size, catch radius, and run after the catch ability of Fairweather makes him a factor in all of these areas.
Fairweather also combined with running back Malik Davis to deliver a big hit on a punt return, the type of play that not only got the Cowboys sideline fired up because of the hit, but also because of the two names in on the play both being players on the bubble needing that type of impact play to stand out.
Dallas has given looks at tight end to fullback Hunter Luepke this training camp and preseason, creating a similar look to what they get with Fairweather, but the Auburn product is far more dynamic at the position, and versatile in multiple phases of the game.
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
How much of what is observed in the preseason can actually be applied to the regular season is always something of a mystery, but one thing was obvious in all three games for the Cowboys, creating an expectation that it will remain a focus going forward under Schottenheimer’s play-calling. This offense wants to throw the ball downfield and put stress on defenses with vertical routes, even out of running formations. Fairweather’s catch on a vertical seam ball was one of three vertical routes being run downfield on that play.
The longest pass play of the night went to Jalen Brooks for a touchdown to start the third quarter though. Throwing out of play-action in an offset I Formation, the Cowboys had the right personnel in the game to alert the Falcons to a run play, but instead took the one-on-one shot to Brooks down the sideline. The third-year receiver has shown a knack for making plays on these types of throws, even in limited opportunity, and in this case pulled away from his defender at the last second to get on the receiving end of a patented laser throw by Milton.
With Ryan Flournoy also finishing as the Cowboys leading receiver in this game, the team has made a statement through three exhibition games about the types of receivers that can thrive the most in this new scheme. The all-around talent of both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens is still waiting in the wings, with neither taking a single snap this preseason, but the names that get in the mix behind these two high volume receivers may come as a surprise given what we saw this preseason.
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
The position group the Cowboys absolutely needed to see more from in this game to have any positive feelings about the situation going into week one was defensive tackle. The Cowboys got much better play overall from their defensive interior. It is amazing what just holding their own at the line of scrimmage can do for the overall feel of a defense, and this is exactly what the Cowboys did for most of the game against the Falcons.
Continuing to defend the run between the tackles is going to be a necessity for this team to win games, starting with one of the toughest possible tests in Saquon Barkley and the Eagles ground game. Perrion Winfrey continued to look like a viable pass rush option to pair with Osa Odighizuwa as the 3-tech Dallas will be counting heavily on. Payton Turner saw some reps at defensive tackle, getting in on the goal line stand the defense made on fourth down in the final minute of this win. Jay Toia saw a lot of playing time throughout the preseason and banked valuable reps that should help him get off to a better start as a very raw first year player at the 1-tech. Mazi Smith also played much of the game, but was still unimpressive.
The Cowboys have a long way to go to prove they’ll consistently be even above average at defensive tackle, but they showed significant progress against the Falcons, and that is a best case scenario considering how addressing the position late in the preseason has also not worked before. Internal player development is Dallas’ best chance to improve here, and under Matt Eberflus this preseason, they very quickly showed the ability to make these developments throughout the defense.
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
In the least surprising news of the preseason, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is in midseason form. This is his default state. Aubrey can feel so automatic at times that mentioning how good he is feels unnecessary or pointless, but in this case it’s absolutely worth pointing out that Aubrey went a perfect five-for-five on field goals this preseason. He also converted all six of his extra points.
The Cowboys got some great reps in an end of half situation against the Falcons, and were able to get points at the end of a seven-play, 34-yard drive (15 by penalty) thanks to Aubrey’s 64-yard field goal to end the half. The kick had plenty of leg, and was a great reminder that while the Cowboys offense may still look to be aggressive plenty of times this season, they have the potential to score three points from practically midfield. That will never not be a big deal.
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