Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams both opened their preseasons on Sunday by being held out of the end zone for the first 59 minutes and 49 seconds of play, but the game’s only touchdown came for the home Rams with 11 seconds left to tie the game on a Miller Forristall six-yard score on fourth and goal. Josh Karty’s extra point put the Rams on top for the 13-12 win, though this will hardly wash away the four turnovers they committed on offense prior to the winning drive (which had a Josh Butler penalty erase a fifth interception by the Dallas defense from Emany Johnson). Making his debut as defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer’s side of the ball stole the show for the visiting Cowboys, while the offense tried desperately to cash in on the turnovers and short fields but only managing four Brandon Aubrey field goals on drives orchestrated by Trey Lance at quarterback.

Even for a preseason opener, the general idea of how the Cowboys can continue to be successful under Mike McCarthy and his staff – collectively feeling the immense pressure to do so despite three consecutive 12 win seasons – was shown on the field at SoFi Stadium, as the team will now stay in California and return to the training camp fields of Oxnard. It is here where the Cowboys will have tough roster decisions to begin making, as relatively unknown players like safeties Julius Wood and Emany Johnson and linebacker Brock Mogenson all made splash plays to help their chances of making the roster.

As we will do after every game for the Cowboys this season, here are other takeaways from this low-scoring, but surprisingly intriguing, preseason week one game at the Rams.

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• The Cowboys coming away with four interceptions against Stetson Bennett is as strong of a statement as they could hope for in just one preseason game, proving they are still looking to stay near the top of the league in takeaways despite losing defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. It wasn’t the usual candidates that have taken the ball away in team drills in camp like DaRon Bland or Jourdan Lewis, and Trevon Diggs did not play as he’s just begun practicing again, but the Cowboys learned they may have valuable depth at cornerback after all. A position group that looked worryingly thin at the start of camp was able to take these valuable live reps and force tight, contested throws throughout the game playing in sync with the linebackers and safeties.

A huge part of how the Cowboys defense looked so sharp right out of the gate was Zimmer’s seasoned experience in teaching this scheme. One of the questions in need of an answer for the Cowboys defense going into this game was who they can rely on outside of veteran FA addition Eric Kendricks at linebacker. DeMarvion Overshown showed off the range and athletic ability that makes him a strong candidate to start in his second season early, making a run stop behind the line of scrimmage on the Rams’ opening drive. The Cowboys also mixed in hybrid players like Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell around the defense, with Thomas able to contain Bennett on a designed rollout and force an incompletion in the first quarter.

The athletic, lengthy, and instinctual backend of the Cowboys defense was able to keep bodies in front and over the top on Bennett’s throws all afternoon, forcing the QB into throws they could get their hands on despite not generating much of a pass rush in the absence of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and others up front.

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Zimmer is instilling the concept of forcing long drives from opposing offenses and with a heightened focus in the secondary. A player like Markquese Bell. who did his best adjusting to a scheme that had him at linebacker under Quinn, has moved to mostly safety, playing tight coverage in the red zone to force a Rams field goal attempt at the start of the game, and later come away with an interception, He shows the immediate results Zimmer and Al Harris are capable of in making this adjustment with him.

This Zimmer defense did not come with a loss of aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball for the Cowboys, who showed plenty of simulated pressures, along with some blitzes and players coming and going from the line of scrimmage were seen on Sunday.

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• When Mike McCarthy said he wanted to use more two-back sets as one of the next steps for an offense he took over play-calling for last season, a play-action shot to Jalen Brooks that resulted in the Cowboys’ longest pass of the game for 43 yards is hardly the first thing that came to mind. This is exactly what Dallas dialed up on Cooper Rush’s only drive of the game though, with fullback Hunter Luepke lining up offset behind Rush and Rico Dowdle in the backfield. After a short fake to Dowdle who stayed in for pass protection, Rush was able to float the ball downfield for Brooks who tracked it back towards the hash and made a contested catch. The big-bodied receiver was able to gain outside leverage on his defender, who had to respect the action in the backfield, and gain a free release that gave Rush plenty of space to fit the ball downfield.

The Cowboys receiver room is looking quite crowded after a game where eight different WRs caught a pass. The offense did not find much of a rhythm once Trey Lance entered at quarterback, with underneath throws being taken away, downfield routes not developing, and some expected faults in pass protection the further down the OL depth chart the Cowboys went. A fourth and goal turnover on downs as Lance threw a fade out of reach for Jalen Moreno-Cropper, by far the closest the Cowboys offense would get to the end zone all game, should have never happened. On the previous play Lance held onto the ball on a third-down completion to Cropper. The second-year receiver was open in the flat earlier in the route, and could have scored easily with a pass delivered on time, but was instead squeezed to the sideline by the time Lance made the read.

Lance did not look bad overall, but the noticeable lack of throws with anticipation or ability to lead receivers into open areas, as Dallas played without two of their dynamic deep threats in CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, was the latest unneeded reminder of how important QB1 Dak Prescott is to this whole team.

The Cowboys were great at capitalizing on short fields and scoring after turnovers with Prescott last year, and any similar results from Lance against the Rams would have likely given Dallas a convincing win to start the preseason, instead they left with the need for a ton more live reps to truly evaluate the passing offense beyond the set-in-stone starters.

• Speaking of offensive line depth, both starter Brock Hoffman and rookie Cooper Beebe saw time at center as the Cowboys only active competition for a starting spot up front is still being settled, unless you think Chuma Edoga And Tyler Guyton is still a competition. Hoffman looked fluid in his ability to snap the ball and still explode into his stance and execute blocks. This may not be a player that is going to generate a ton of downfield push or drive heavier defenders off their spot, but he is getting the job done with past starting experience under his belt that this staff trusts.

Beebe was not as sharp on the execution of each snap and putting himself in position to block, something that has been noted from practices in Oxnard before, but when he did have a chance to block downhill the results were there. A natural guard that played the position at a high level at Kansas State, Beebe is much more comfortable than Hoffman getting out in space and keeping his balance as he seals off second level defenders. It feels like no matter what Beebe’s role is early in his first season as the team’s third-round pick, the rookie with both center and guard flexibility is going to play an important role at some point sooner than later.

• On the other side of the ball at the line of scrimmage, another rookie that stood out was seventh-round pick Justin Rogers at defensive tackle. A true nose tackle that has gone under the radar with all the attention given to how Mazi Smith will perform at this position, Rogers has flashed in padded team drills in Oxnard and translated it to live game reps against the Rams. Smith and the entirety of the Cowboys front four looked noticeably bigger aligned in a more traditional front now. Rogers spent time playing as a zero technique, squared up with the center, and was able to use his strength to hold the point of attack. The Rams ran the ball right at Rogers a number of times with little success.

How a player like Rogers, listed at 6’2”, 338 pounds (the heaviest on the roster, beating out Smith by just one pound) can coexist with leaner pass rushers on the edge like a Parsons or fellow rookie Marshawn Kneeland may go a long way in determining just how many snaps he can play, but Dallas is still in position to prioritize any player that helps them play tougher against the run, and can start to look beyond just Smith filling these shoes if Rogers continues to develop.

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• It’s worth noting that for the first time in a long time, training camp for the Dallas Cowboys is going to come and go without any drama at kicker. Brandon Aubrey has been uncontested in his second season with the team, and had a great chance to show why on Sunday with field goals of 30, 36, 38, and 52 yards. Aubrey did miss a 65-yard kick near the end of the third quarter, an attempt pushed back after Lance took an ill-advised sack on third and five. Aubrey was a perfect ten for ten on field goal attempts over 50 yards last season, with his longest coming from 60.

The Cowboys have not needed to see much from their blue-chip players in any preseason action under McCarthy to trust they are ready for the regular season, but with Aubrey being the only kicker on the roster, he will continue to get work on both the new dynamic kickoff as well as field goals against the Raiders and Chargers to conclude the preseason over the next two weeks.