The Dallas Cowboys extend their “meaningless” losing streak to three straight games after falling to the Houston Texans 20-14 in what was considered their dress rehearsal. The performances Saturday night would be best described as a mixed bag for a team that couldn’t score in the second half. As always, there are winners and there are losers, so it’s time to dive in.
Winner: Cooper Rush
It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Garrett Gilbert would be the primary backup heading into the season. For the first time this preseason, though, Cooper Rush got playing time with the same caliber of player as his cohort. All he did on the night was make good decisions, ultimately going 10-of-12 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. It would seem to be an unlikely scenario that he supplants Gilbert from a quarter and a half of strong play, but it’d be foolish to rule anything out. Also, a friendly reminder: if either Gilbert or Rush are playing significant snaps come the regular season, things have gone sideways.
Loser: Ben DiNucci
The Cowboys were never keeping four quarterbacks on the roster. No team in the league does that. It’s improbable that even three will be on the team come September. But there was certainly hope that DiNucci could progress enough to merit a place on the practice squad and continue his development. There’s been none. The second-year quarterback remains erratic, throwing three picks on the night, including one that was returned for a touchdown. For every decent play he makes, there’s a worse one that erases it and then some.
Winner: Noah Brown
Noah Brown remains the most overlooked player on the roster. He plays special teams at a high level but is rarely asked to make plays on offense. Saturday night he did just that, though, catching all three of his targets for 35 yards including this one: https://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys/status/1429250707799121925?s=20 There are cheaper options on the roster that could eat up his snaps. It would be a bad decision to not keep a player who has proven himself worthy in multiple aspects of the game. Tonight was a reminder of why he should be the fifth wideout for the Cowboys.
Loser: Special Teams
There’s an important caveat here: the players filling out the special teams units in preseason are absolutely not the ones that will be playing for John Fassel against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in two and a half weeks. Still, it was not a great performance from the unit that showed massive improvement last season. There were three penalties against the group and a 24-yard punt return allowed, all while managing nearly nothing on returns of their own. There’s no time to panic, but rest assured that the coaches will have some words for the fringe players who aren’t contributing in the one way they can make the team.
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