Veteran Cowboys journalists Mike Fisher and Richie Whitt review Dallas' preseason-opener at Seattle.
Long-time Dallas Cowboys beat writer and guest columnist Richie Whitt (find him on Substack) joins our Mike Fisher to review Top 10 Takes from the Cowboys' preseason debut at Seattle on Saturday. ...
It happens every summer.
Which doesn’t mean it happens every fall.
But for now?
The latest Dallas Cowboys’ rookie to produce an eye-popping performance in his NFL debut is somebody named Camden Brown. ... who did his thing this weekend while both celebrating ... and mourning.
The Cowboys are merely trying to return to respectability. The Seattle Seahawks are attempting to become the first NFC team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the 1992-93 Cowboys.
With disparate goals, the teams met Saturday night at Lumen Field in their NFL preseason opener, with Dallas winning 17-7.
Will the good stuff from August carry over into September?
Our Top 10 Takes …
10. DEJA BOO – First impressions can – hopefully – be deceiving.
Christian Parker’s defense looked an awful lot like Matt Eberflus’ defense. … At least on an opening drive in which the Seahawks drove 80 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead.
Cornerback Caelen Carson committed two third-down penalties and cornerback Trikweze Bridges was beaten to the post by rookie receiver Montorie Foster for a 5-yard touchdown. Much of the Cowboys’ optimism is founded on a drastic defensive improvement, but Saturday’s opening minutes were less than inspiring.
Parker’s unit was solid after that drive, however, holding Seattle without a point and coming up with a fourth-quarter goal-line stand with third- and fourth-teamers on the field.
“We were a little sloppy earlier,’’ said coach Brian Schottenheimer, who otherwise used the word “terrific’’ to describe the performance.
We will tap the brakes on that. … while noting that the advanced stats show Dallas missed zero tackles in this game - a massive improvement from a year ago.
9. NO DAK, NO DARNOLD, NO … - While elite quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Sam Darnold watched in street clothes, the game was in the hands of guys like Jalen Milroe, Drew Lock, Sam Howell and Joe Milton. Howell had a nice scramble, a couple of decent throws and the touchdown to Brown, but behind this makeshift starting offensive line it’s dangerous to do any real evaluating.
Having said that, Schottenheimer said both of Dak’s backups “functioned outstanding.’’
On to Preseason Week 2 for more evaluation, as there might just be one job opening here before the cut to 53.
Nate Thomas, Trevor Keegan, T.J. Bass, Ajani Cornelius and Drew Shelton? Bass played center; he’ll be fine at guard. And Cornelius will get good grades from coaches.
Collectively, though, not good enough.
8. THE MINGO PACKAGE? – The Cowboys in 2024 traded a fourth-round draft pick for Mingo. All you need to know about his bust of a career in Dallas is that Saturday night was his best game as a Cowboy.
On a first-half drive, he made two catches for 20 yards.
After last season being leap-frogged by Ryan Flournoy, Mingo remains a bubble guy when the Cowboys trim the roster to 53 on Aug. 30. But for one series at least, we remembered he still played football. And, give him credit, Mingo also chased down the Seahawks’ Rashad Rochelle and saved a touchdown on a 52-yard punt return.
Suddenly, though, it might be about Mingo vs. Camden Brown for a fifth- or sixth-receiver job.
7. KIDS REVIEW – None of this year’s draft crop of Cowboys rookies had a play – much less a game - worth remembering. Top pick Caleb Downs survived his debut.
"Yeah, super-excited," Downs said. "A really fun experience, and I'm excited to have more opportunities in the future."
Second first-round pick Malachi Lawrence pushed too far inside on a 3rd-and-11, allowing Milroe to scramble for a first down.
It was receiver Camden Brown, of course, who stood out with two spectacular touchdown grabs.
And we should also mention UDFA rookie tight end Michael Trigg here; he looked like a football player.
On defense? He’s not a rookie, but DB Julius Wood was impactful enough to jump into the 53-man conversation.
6. MELONCHOLY MEMORIES – Bad Cowboys’ memories linger in the otherwise beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Charlie Waters tore up a knee in the old Kingdome in a preseason game in 1977. Tony Romo in 2006 infamously bobbled a snap to spoil a playoff game-winning field goal. And, of course, Romo suffered a season-ending back injury on a preseason scramble in 2016 that paved the way for Prescott to become the permanent starting quarterback.
So, relatively speaking, this game - Dallas’ first preseason-opening win since 2017 - was a smashing success.
5. RETURN TO SENDER – We appreciate that second-year receiver Traeshon Holden is desperate to make a play to earn some attention and perhaps a roster spot. But that urgency resulted in him just looking silly.
On his first punt return, Holden was clearly tackled, but quickly popped up and inexplicably continued running as he wasn’t down.
His second attempt was a complete disaster, as he tried to pick up a bouncing ball at his own 3-yard line and wound up fumbling it to Seattle.
Holden earned attention all right, but for the wrong reasons. … and may have played himself right out of job contention.
Indeed, the team will return to camp in Oxnard with the ongoing need to solve their special-teams brain cramps.
4. FORGET THE SCORE – Preseason scores? Like even the best lip-syncers, they’re fraudulent, misrepresentative and in no way indicators of future performance. For example, the Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the 2008 preseason, then 0-16 in the regular season. In 2014 the Cowboys went 0-4, then 12-4. In 2021 they were 0-4, then 12-5.
Monitor the key players; dismiss the final score. Please.
3. QB2 OR RB2? – The competition to be Javonte Williams’ backup didn’t get visibly clearer in this one. Jaydon Blue (eight carries for 19 yards) and Phil Mafah (four for 9) both averaged less than 2.5 yards per carry.
Mafah left the game with a chest injury. … and Malik Davis is the job who seemed to play at the highest level in contending for the backup job.
Nothing new to see on the quarterback front, either. Milton clearly has more tools and potential, but Howell appears steadier and less likely to make a negative play that could cost his team a game.
In the battle to be Dak’s backup, Howell completed 8 of 12 for 94 yards and a touchdown in the first half; Milton went 12 of 15 for 107 and a score in the second half.
2. BOWL BLUEPRINT – Despite the well-publicized 30-year drought, Jerry Jones repeated what he told us in our exclusive interview a couple of weeks ago in Oxnard, as he says watching last season’s Super Bowl gave him “hope.”
Why?
Because the NFL’s two best teams in 2025 neither made the playoffs in 2024.
Entering last season, the Seahawks had gone five years without a playoff win and were 19-15 in the previous two years before winning the title.
The Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game the last three seasons. So … “hope’’ away!
1. DAZZLING DEBUT – When you know, you know.
Like in 2005 when DeMarcus Ware forced two fumbles, had an interception and produced a sack in Seattle in his first NFL game.
Or in 2016 when fourth-round rookie Dak showed eye-popping poise and accuracy in going 10 of 12 for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the L.A. Coliseum.
Or in 2022 when KaVontae Turpin returned a kickoff 98 yards and a punt 86 yards for touchdowns in the first half.
Saturday night it was undrafted rookie Brown who stole the show with two dazzling touchdown catches. Brown did in this game what he’s been doing in camp: catch the ball. … sometimes in a spectacular manner.
Brown, who played three years at Auburn before finishing his college career at Georgia Southern, outfought a defender and an interference penalty in the end zone to come down with a 39-yard touchdown that gave Dallas a 10-7 lead just before halftime. In the third quarter he had a 21-yard catch-and-run after reeling in a rocket pass over the middle from Joe Milton, then made another highlight-reel scoring grab with a one-hand, left-hand snare in the left corner of the end zone for a 17-7 lead.
Said Schotty: “The game’s not too big for him. He does it every day in practice, we see it all the time… Really good day, but he’s got to keep stacking what he’s been doing.’’
Adding to the drama of it all: Five years ago this weekend, Brown lost his sister, who died at age 17 after a life-long battle with kidney problems.
After the game, Brown wore a chain with her picture on it, and spoke of the inspiration he takes from her.“People said she wasn’t going to make it past 3,” said Camden. “She lived to 17 years old. … She lived through me today. She’s smiling at me right now.”
