By: Anthony Miller
Another tough week for the Dallas Cowboys as they close out week two of the NFL preseason with a 22-14 loss on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.
Dallas’ offense got off to a good start in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown on their second drive of the game which included 17 plays for 80 yards on the drive. The second quarter was quiet with the team gaining 26 total yards on three drives as they were trailing 17-7 at halftime.
Their second half would be like the start they had in the first half with a 71-yard drive capped off by a Deuce Vaughn touchdown run making the game 17-14. Outside of that opening drive, Dallas closed out with 62 yards on their last four drives including an interception and a safety as the Cowboys lost to Seattle 22-14.
The Cowboys have their record at 0-2 in the preseason with a home and road loss to their record. Despite the loss, there were positive things that happened in the game and there were negative things that happened.
Jalen Tolbert Emerging in Preseason
One player that has been brought up consistently as someone who fans are waiting to emerge is wide receiver, Jalen Tolbert. Last preseason he impressed fans but got overshadowed by CeeDee Lamb and others ahead of him. This season, he’s back to playing at a high level and could see a bigger role with the team this season.
During the Seattle game this past weekend, Tolbert finished as the team’s leading receiver with four receptions for 66 yards with six targets. His biggest play of the game came with a nice 35-yard completion showing teams he is hard to cover one on one.
This could be a sign for things to come in the 2023 season as Tolbert appears to be on his way back on the 53-man roster. The question comes as to what role he is going to play with the team. With Brandin Cooks added to the roster this season, it’s hard to believe he will be one of the top two receivers on the team with Lamb there as well. Now could he sneak in as a third or fourth option? There’s a good chance of that happening.
Rico Dowdle’s Solid Game Overshadowed by Mistake Again
Overall, for the night, running back Rico Dowdle performed well on offense rushing for 38 yards on eight carries while also catching two passes for nine yards and a touchdown. Dowdle’s pass protection was also apparent as well as he showed improvement on that front and could be seen as the best back on the roster with pass blocking.
The aspect that hurt Dowdle was for the second straight week, had a big mistake in the game that hurt the Cowboys. Week one against Jacksonville had the fumble that would have been a potential scoring drive if it wasn’t for his fumble. This past weekend, he missed a block on the punt which resulted in a punt block and safety.
It’s hard to be critical of Dowdle as he has shown that he has RB2-caliber skills and would make for a formable backup to Tony Pollard. The mistakes though are ones that are hurting Dallas in games, so it is something to monitor for the last preseason game and beyond.
Juanyeh Thomas Another Strong Performance on Defense
From the first week of the preseason, Juanyeh Thomas made his presence felt with an early game interception of Trevor Lawrence in week one against the Jaguars. Thomas has shown during practice to be a shutdown defensive back who can come up on run support to make the tackle.
Last week against Seattle was no exception as he recorded six tackles leading the Cowboys’ defense in that category. The cornerback’s biggest play of the game was tackling running back Sa’Roderick Thompson on a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage for negative yards.
Thomas’ game has improved throughout training camp and the preseason. It’s a trend he is hoping to continue as it isn’t 100 percent, he will make the team. The last two games though have put him in the driver’s seat to make the roster should his strong performance continue.
DeMarvion Overshown Done for the Season
Dallas’ 2023 third-round draft pick DeMarvion Overshown was expected to have a big role in the defense rotating in at linebacker. Overshown was one of the highlights of training camp performing well to the point of getting looks for playing time.
This weekend saw the quick end of Overshown’s season as he tore his ACL while making a tackle on Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet.
The Cowboys’ linebacker position takes a hit as they already don’t have much depth at the linebacker position. On the inside, it’s Leighton Vander Esch and Damone Clark with Jabril Cox and Malik Jefferson expected to fill in for Overshown.
It’s a tough break for the rookie who was looking at being a sleeper on the Cowboys this season. Now Dallas will have to turn to Cox and Jefferson to fill the void.
Featured Image via Tom Hauck/Getty Images