The Dallas Cowboys are 2-0 in the preseason for the first time in almost 20 years…. since 2007 to be exact.
Saturday night, as late as it went, was a very impressive outing for the team. Joe Milton shined in serious fashion, and Malik Davis took a big step in the RB2 battle.
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Just like last week the Cowboys defense allowed only a single touchdown, and while these are “only” preseason games, right now everything is looking rather positive for this team.
Below you will find a recap of everything as it unfolded.
Another win! Let’s keep going.
First Quarter
The Cowboys were up first and with Joe Milton starting at quarterback. To be clear the team had long said that he and Sam Howell would alternate starts throughout the preseason and Howell got the call in Seattle.
It was a productive drive for the offense that featured a ton from the running back who started the game in Malik Davis. Notably, rookie Drew Shelton was also starting at left tackle.
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Unfortunately things came to a halt after Joe Milton and Zack Kuntz were unable to connect on a dump off on fourth and short in the redzone. Kuntz was one of only two tight ends active for game game, by the way (Luke Schoonmaker). Turnover on downs.
As they were backed up against their own endzone the Cardinals decided to try and pick up some breathing room. A deep pass attempt saw Shavon Revel get called for illegal contact to open things up a bit. Notably here, rookie Jaishawn Barham was making his team debut and was doing so while wearing the green dot.
He quickly made his announcement. Barham sniffed out a Cardinals run play and made an aggressive tackle for loss.
Shortly after… Shavon Revel made an announcement himself with an interception!
And as we were all celebrating… Malik Davis took a Joe Milton pass into the endzone for the score.
SCORE: COWBOYS 7, CARDINALS 0
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It was a quick three and out for Arizona so Joe Milton and co. were back on the field rather quickly. Early in the drive Jaydon Blue had a nice moment as he hurdled a Cardinals defender, and the drive kept going.
And then the drive KEPT GOING as Joe Milton found Jonathan Mingo for a huge touchdown!
SCORE: COWBOYS 14, CARDINALS 0
The Cardinals began finding some offensive success of their own, so much so that the drive lasted through the end of the opening period.
Second Quarter
Interestingly, across the whole of their possession the Cardinals had two touchdowns wiped away due to penalty. They had to ultimately settle for a field goal for their first points of the game.
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SCORE: COWBOYS 14, CARDINALS 3
Just about as the drive started… Joe Milton was at it again. This time it involved Camden Brown almost scoring another touchdown.
Milton took care of that himself moments later.
SCORE: COWBOYS 21, CARDINALS 3
Once again the Cardinals found something with the ball in their hand. They were still committing a lot of penalties though which you never want to see.
Right after the Cardinals committed a false start that made their hopes for a touchdown slimmer… LT Overton put an end to them entirely with a sack (partly thanks to amazing coverage)! Arizona had to settle for a field goal after.
SCORE: COWBOYS 21, CARDINALS 6
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Dallas took over north of the two-minute warning and was clearly looking for points before halftime. It looked like they were going to score yet another touchdown, but things fizzled out and they had to settle for a casual Brandon Aubrey field goal from 50.
SCORE: COWBOYS 24, CARDINALS 6
The Cardinals got in position for their kicker, Chad Ryland, to attempt a 62-yard field goal. It was about as far right as your opening tee shot when everyone from the clubhouse can still see you.
The Cowboys were able to head to the locker room with all the reason in the world to feel great about themselves.
Third Quarter
As noted the Cardinals had been coming close on their last few possessions. It seemed as if some halftime talk and discussion helped them figure things out and they were finally able to get things across the goal line, figuratively and literally speaking.
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Corey Kiner was the man who punched it in for the first Arizona touchdown of the night and first touchdown at large that the Cowboys defense had allowed in the preseason since their first possession in Seattle.
SCORE: COWBOYS 24, CARDINALS 13
The Cowboys went down the field at a much slower rhythm than earlier in the game. Maybe this was because of how late it was, joking obviously, but also the team had a big lead due to what happened in the first half. They were clearly aware of that and running the ball much more.
The efforts finished shy of the endzone, but Brandon Aubrey was able to nail another three.
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SCORE: COWBOYS 27, CARDINALS 13
The quarter ended with Arizona holding the ball.
Fourth Quarter
Arizona wound up punting the ball back to the Cowboys early in the quarter, and Brian Schottenheimer let Sam Howell throw it a bit more this time around.
Unfortunately he may have let Sam throw it a bit too much. After the Cowboys got within striking distance Howell threw a pretty inexcusable interception to turn the ball over. This happening after Milton set the game on fire certainly made the QB2 conversation pretty obvious.
Thankfully the Cardinals were not able to do anything with the ball and stalled out at their own 38-yard line. Dallas took over on downs with five and a half minutes to go, and everything seemed pretty formal at that point.
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Formalities can change, though. Right when it seemed liked the Cowboys were going to just run things out… Phil Mafah had other plans!
SCORE: COWBOYS 34, CARDINALS 13
The Cardinals basically ran the clock out and that was the ballgame!
Cowboys win!
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