10 thoughts on the Cowboys 31-21 preseason loss to the Rams

The Dallas Cowboys played a football game. Was it everything we hoped for? Not exactly. Was it an admirable attempt to get the blood flowing? Possibly. We’ll let everyone be their own judge. It’s just the first preseason game, so our expectations were lowered, but what can we say about this first football action of the preseason?

It couldn’t have started any worse. The Rams’ offense drove the ball 79 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown on their opening possession of the game. The Cowboys’ offense went three-and-out. On the Rams’ second possession, they drove the ball 64 yards on 13 plays for another touchdown. The Cowboys’ offense again went three-and-out. On two possessions, the defense couldn’t make a stop, and the offense couldn’t make a first down. That’s not how we wanted to spend our Saturday evening.

It’s a preseason game. There are going to be penalties. The Cowboys had their fair share of brain lapses as one might expect, but a few of them were head-scratchers. Asim Richards lined up too far back at the line of scrimmage on back-to-back plays, and the second one negated a nice run by rookie running back Phil Mafah. Even Cowboys players who weren’t playing got flagged. CeeDee Lamb, who was so excited about a possible long bomb passing play, that his no-look celebration got in the way of an official who was running down the sideline.

The Cowboys had eight penalties for 68 yards in the first half, but then settled down as they only had three penalties for 15 yards in the second half, so that’s good.

All eyes were on the Cowboys’ new backup quarterback, Joe Milton, and the coaching staff wasted no time letting him cut loose. Unfortunately, he wasn’t connecting well with his receivers. Many of his throws were missiles and looked nice leaving his hand, but he couldn’t stick the landing. He was misfiring, missing wide-open receivers. Many of his throws weren’t very catchable, and sometimes he just rifled the ball into coverage.

As anxious as he looked for most of the game, Milton did finish strong. He had a nice strike to undrafted free agent receiver Traeshon Holden down the sideline for a 35-yard gain. Seven plays later, he found another UDFA rookie, this time tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, for a seven-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Milton showed more poise and put the ball in great spots, giving his receivers a fighting chance to come down with the ball. It was nice to see him finish the game on a positive note. He did leave the game, favoring his elbow, but he was ready to come back in if the coaches had let him.

What the Cowboys can get from their rushing attack will be of big interest to fans, considering they were less than stellar last season. On Saturday night, rookie Phil Mafah got the most work. His stats weren’t eye-popping as he finished with just 10 carries for 36 yards, but he ran with toughness, turning small gains into bigger ones. The team also got some help from an old friend as recently signed Malik Davis showed up in the fourth quarter and ran for 63 yards on seven carries. Not too shabby.

Sure, it’s preseason. There’s going to be plenty of things that need to be cleaned up, but what we did see from the defense wasn’t pleasant to the eye. They struggled to stop the run as the Rams rushed for 181 yards. The tackling was scarce as Rams’ ball carriers bounced off of and ran through defenders all night. The defense also struggled to get off the field on the money down, allowing too many third- and fourth-down conversions.

While the defense as a whole didn’t look very good, one player was in the middle of all the action early on. Second-year linebacker Marist Liufau was all over the place. You could see he looked comfortable and was making reads decisively. He was hitting the hole quickly, making a tackle for a loss on a key third-down play. He also sprinted right through a blocker, putting pressure on the quarterback. It was good to see that one of the team’s regular defensive players was showing out, and the young linebacker could be in for a strong sophomore season.

There wasn’t a lot to cheer about on defense, but there was one nice play. Three plays after Rams’ defensive back Cam Lampkin made an amazing ball-snatch, taking the ball away from Cowboys’ receiver Ryan Flournoy, the defense returned the favor. On a deep ball intended for Rams’ receiver Konata Mumpfield, Cowboys’ corner Israel Mukuamu made an incredible last-second, one-handed grab for the pick.

The Cowboys had a few undrafted free agents show up on Saturday. The receiver turning heads in camp, Traeshon Holden, had the Cowboys’ longest receiving play of 35 yards. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather had the team’s first preseason touchdown. And defensive backs Zion Childress and Alijah Clark led the team with five solo tackles each. It was a good showing for three players who are fighting for a roster spot. Stacking more performances like this could punch their ticket as every season, a few of them sneak onto the roster.

It’s hard to get much of a sense of what the team’s new head coach will provide from just one preseason game. After all, he only used his seven iron. While we can’t be too judgy, it wasn’t a great start. He preaches physicality and toughness, and at times, they looked like they were being pushed around. He preaches intelligence, and the units didn’t show much discipline. Even his commitment to running the ball seemed like a broken promise after the offense came out throw-happy. Only time will tell what this team will look like under new management, but so far, from what we saw in this game, there isn’t much to be excited about.

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10 thoughts on the Cowboys 31-21 preseason loss to the Rams

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