Cowboys Winners & Losers from Preseason Win at Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys welcomed the Seattle Seahawks back to Lumen Field for their first home game since winning Super Bowl LX down in the Bay Area in February by helping them to a touchdown-scoring drive in their opening possession.

But that was the end of the cordiality from the visitors.

Dallas earned its first preseason-opening victory since 2017 with a 17-7 win that featured two touchdown catches by rookie Camden Brown and a level of defensive speed and intensity that was absent from the Cowboys during much of the 2025 regular season ... that is, after that first drive.

New defensive coordinator Christian Parker's squad held Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe to just 49 yards passing, which, in the long run, could go down as the biggest "win" of the night if it serves as any precursor to the type of pass coverage these Cowboys can be capable of.

But yes, we must remember that many of these players likely won't see much of the field during the regular season, much less make the 53-man roster after next month's cuts.

The secondary wasn't always great (as you'll read soon), but Dallas leaves Seattle with plenty of praise-worthy performances to get 2026 underway.

Below, we highlight, or in a less-optimistic way, spotlight the Cowboys who deserve to be talked about most from the first game of the season.

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The Georgia Southern product, who previously spent three quiet seasons at Auburn, went unselected in this spring's NFL Draft and signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Cowboys. Since then, he's performed well, both throughout training camp and in his breakout debut.

His two touchdown catches - a physical wrestling match he won off a 39-yard launch by Sam Howell, and a 5-yard fade from Joe Milton that was snagged with one arm - will be remembered this Cowboys season long after the first three meaningless games.

They'll carry even more weight if they help the wideout land a roster spot in his competition with Jonathan Mingo, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Traeshon Holden and others.

When it comes to competitions, the running back spot behind bell-cow starter Javonte Williams was thought to be a must-watch battle, largely between sophomores Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah.

The two didn't receive a ton of opportunities to shine, and when they did, they were underwhelming. Blue rushed a team-high eight times, but finished with just 19 yards. Mafah, who was later ruled out with a chest contusion, rushed for nine yards on four attempts.

Malik Davis, who unofficially assumed the RB2 role at spurts last season, led the way with 39 rushing yards on seven carries, including a 14-yard burst up the middle for a first down.

A similar storyline takes shape for the backup quarterback battle, though the dialogue around the competition intensifying comes not because of what each player didn't do, but because of what they did.

Howell got the start and conducted a 16-play drive that got the Cowboys on the board with a field goal. It followed an opening 3-and-out that was largely the fault of backup offensive linemen making things difficult by forfeiting penalties or missing assignments.

The former Washington Commanders starter went 8 of 12 through the air for 94 yards, showing calmness under pressure and the ability to stretch plays.

Milton displayed noteworthy development in his decision to float passes when that is more recommended than his patented blazing-hot fastball. The best example of that touch was the back-shoulder lob to Brown to end his first possession under center in the third quarter.

Late in the game, Milton also showed off some physicality as a runner. We know he's gifted with his legs as much as his arm in open-field speed, but Milton converted several game-clinching first downs via the QB sneak (yes, it's still allowed).

The Cowboys' starting left tackle on Saturday showed us why head coach Brian Schottenheimer ended that "competition" for the starting spot with Tyler Guyton after just one day of training camp earlier this summer.

Thomas was whistled for one false start, and he was lucky a second wasn't called. He also made a habit of getting driven onto his heels, forcing a substitution before we reached the halftime break. From then on, the offense moved with more rhythm, and a steadier left side with Marcellus Johnson in could explain that.

This is worrisome for Dallas as a whole, considering the number of games Guyton has missed early in his career, but the larger recurring theme is that this game did little to offer confidence in the Cowboys' offensive line depth, outside of versatile veteran T.J. Bass.

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Parker got more comfortable dialing up pressure from the Cowboys' defensive line as the game progressed and the players settled in.

The two who capitalized on those chances were Marist Liufau and James Houston, though the pass rush was collectively good on multiple occasions, especially in their two fourth-down stands inside the red zone.

Houston and Liufau teamed up for a sack (though only Houston got credit for it on the stat sheet), and the latter wrapped up a ball-carrier for a tackle-for-loss early on.

Liufau is stepping into a new role, moving from inside to outside linebacker, under Parker. Like he did last preseason, Houston is hoping to continue salvaging his NFL career with production as a rotational defensive end.

Houston was able to earn a roster spot after a strong preseason in 2025, but this remade Cowboys pass rush offers less room to shoot for. And for Liufau, a new role in a healthier room will force him to keep stacking these types of plays to help his cause.

But both are trending up after Saturday.

The defensive back's sluggish start, which featured two third-down penalties on Seattle's opening drive, ultimately dictated very little in the outcome of the game. They were, however, potentially detrimental to Carson's standing in the cornerback hierarchy behind presumptive starters DaRon Bland and Cobie Durant.

Shavon Revel Jr. is likely the next challenger to a starting spot, but his quiet night still carries better than the showing we got out of the one they call "Seatbelt". A nod still goes out to Carson for his diving pass breakup that would've been a first-down catch had the play not been made.

Carson and the rest of the Cowboys on the wrong end of today's assessment will look to join their "winning" teammates when Dallas aims for a 2-0 preseason start.

The Cowboys visit State Farm Stadium to play the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 22.