Dallas shattered a nearly two-decade drought by securing a dominant 2-0 start. Led by Joe Milton’s explosive performance, this new-look roster is finally delivering tangible offseason progress.
Maybe these Dallas Cowboys really are different.
Yes, we're still talking about preseason football, and nobody will remember a 34-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals if Dallas isn't winning games that matter a few months from now.
But remember that weird little piece of history the Cowboys had a chance to erase Saturday night?
Consider it erased.
Dallas improved to 2-0 in the preseason for the first time since 2007 after cruising past Arizona at State Farm Stadium, ending a drought that had somehow survived nearly two decades.
That's 19 years for a preseason record.
So forgive us for having a little fun with this one.
Before the game, I wrote that beating Arizona wouldn't erase any of the Cowboys' actual demons. It wasn't going to make anyone forget the Cardinals beating Dallas in 2025, Josh Dobbs shocking the Cowboys in 2023 or Arizona's 38-10 demolition of Dallas in 2020.
It still doesn't.
But if the goal of this offseason has been for the Cowboys to start doing things a little differently ... they're at least staying on theme.
Dallas didn't just sneak its way to 2-0, either.
Joe Milton made his latest argument in the backup quarterback competition, completing 9-of-13 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. The Cowboys took a 24-6 advantage into halftime and never gave Arizona much reason to believe a comeback was coming.
The defense contributed, too, with Shavon Revel Jr. recording an interception while rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham popped in his preseason debut as Dallas held Arizona to 13 points.
And suddenly, the Cowboys have accomplished something they hadn't done since Tony Romo was entering his first full season as Dallas' starting quarterback.
The last Cowboys team to open a preseason 2-0 went on to finish 13-3, earn the NFC's No. 1 seed ... and I'm not predicting that happens again.
Preseason records tell us very little about what happens once September arrives, and a 2-0 start won't mean much if Dallas doesn't carry any of this momentum into the regular season.
But that was kind of the point from the beginning.
The Cowboys have spent this offseason trying to change the way this franchise operates. Eventually, the players have to turn all of that talk about being different into something tangible.
A 2-0 preseason start isn't much.
After 19 years, though?
It's at least something.
