What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks
The Dallas Cowboys will leave Seattle disappointed at what occurred at Lumen Field on Saturday night well beyond the final score, a 22-14 loss.
A potential season-ending knee injury to rookie linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, a third-round pick from Texas, was the biggest blow. Three other players also left with injuries and did not return: tackle Matt Waletzko (shoulder), promising rookie tight end John Stephens (knee) and safety Sheldrick Redwine (hamstring).
The Cowboys again took the field without quarterback Dak Prescott and the majority of the veteran starters.
Coach Mike McCarthy plans to keep them out of preseason action until the Sept. 10 season opener against the New York Giants.
The good news is the Cowboys backups held up well early on against a Seahakws team playing many of their starters, including quarterback Geno Smith and first-team offensive line.
The Cowboys limited Smith to just three points on two drives.
And the Cowboys took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter when backup quarterback Cooper Rush directed a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 6-yard pass to Rico Dowdle.
Rush, who was 4-1 in place of Dak Prescott last season, again showed why he is firmly entrenched as the backup. He completed 9 of 14 passes for 96 yards.
Rush gave way to third quarterback Will Grier after the touchdown.
Grier was given an opportunity to show the Cowboys why they need to keep three quarterbacks on the roster, especially considering the new rule allowing three quarterbacks to be active on game day in 2023.
The first drive of the third quarter proved promising as Grier directed a six-play, 71-yard scoring drive. The big plays were a 27-yard pass to receiver Dontario Drummond, passes of 10 and 12 yards to tight end Luke Schoonmaker and 10 yards to tight end Sean McKeon.
Rookie running back Deuce Vaughn scored on a 14-yard run to make score 17-14.
Grier had a chance to complete the comeback early in the fourth quarter but on second-and-11 at Seattle 20 disaster struck.
A late throw in the end zone to receiver Simi Fehoko was picked off by cornerback Tre Brown. Seattle added a field goal on the ensuing drive, upping the lead to 20-14.
They added safety on a blocked punt as running back Rico Dowdle tarnished a strong night on the ground by not blocking John Hall.
The Cowboys (0-2) end the preseason on Aug. 26 at AT&T Stadium against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Here’s what we learned:
Jalen Tolbert’s second-year jump is real
Aside from Dak Prescott’s interceptions and Brett Maher’s missed extra points, there was no bigger disappointment on the Cowboys last season than the play of receiver Jalen Tolbert.
Picked in the third round of the 2022 draft and expected to make an immediate impact on offense, the moment and opportunity was simply too big for Tolbert, who has just two catches for 12 yards in eight games in addition to a mistakenly lining up offsides on a critical drive in a loss to the Green Bay Packers
Tolbert used his struggles as motivation and has looked like a different player since the start of training camp.
After catching two passes for 29 yards and a touchdown in the preseason opener, Tolbert looked like an old pro in the first half against the Seahawks, catching four passes for 66 yards, including a 35 yarder. Four of his receptions were for first downs.
Add in KaVontae Turpin’s two catches for 17 yards and the Cowboys appear to strong depth at receiver behind starters CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup.
Discipline remains a focal point for Cowboys, Sam Williams
The Cowboys second-team defense should feel good about what they accomplished against the Seahawks’ first team offense with quarterback Geno Smith and the starting offensive line on the field.
Defensive end Sam Williams, who is line for a strong second-year jump after after impressive rookie campaign when he had four sacks, showed his potential with a sack on Smith on third down to limit Seattle to a field goal.
Williams is going to prove to be a strong complement to pass rushers Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence.
But he also must become more disciplined.
Seattle had two touchdowns in the first half and both were aided by personal foul penalties on the defense.
The first one came in the second quarter when safety Juanyeh Thomas was flagged for taunting after an incomplete pass on third down. Three plays later, the Seahawks scored on a 1-yard run.
Williams made his mistake on the next Seattle drive with a roughing the passer penalty, giving the Seahawks a first down at the 12. They scored on a 1-yard run three plays later.
Williams had three unnecessary roughness penalties a year ago as a rookie.
Backup RBs Dowdle, Davis, Vaughn impress
The regular season remains another story but there is little more backup running backs Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn can do to show that they are capable of making an impact behind starter Tony Pollard.
Dowdle has been the best back behind Pollard since the start of training camp and had a nice bounce back game against the Seahawks with eight carries for 38 yards and a 6-yard touchdown reception.
Davis split carries with Dowdle in the half and had eight carries for 32 yards, including an 18-yard run.
Vaughn took over at running back in the second half and had an immediate impact with a 14-yard touchdown run, displaying his quick feet and elusiveness that has made the 5-foot-5 dynamo an immediate fan favorite.
Vaughn’s touchdowns drew chants of “Deuce” at Seattle’s Lumen Field.
The question is whether the Cowboys can keep all three running backs on the roster behind Pollard.
