By Mark Halpern
Arizona- So, this week, we saw a better showing from the Dallas Cowboys even though they lost to the Cardinals 19-16. For the second week in a row, we saw primarily second and third-string players from Cowboys with a few appearances from first-string starters. The same could be said for the home team The Arizona Cardinals.
The battle for a second-string quarterback for the Cowboys is off to a good start. So far, in 2 preseason games, neither Gilbert, Rush nor DeNucci have thrown an interception in either of the first two games. Throwing for a touchdown has only been done by DeNucci to Brandon Smith for a 1-yard TD at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Neither of the three quarterbacks eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Gilbert is currently leading the way but, DeNucci and Rush are not out of the running yet.
The Offensive line, including the backups, have done an excellent job protecting the quarterback as they did not give up a sack on the day. We saw Michael Gallup catch two passes for 23 yards of the first-string starters, including a nice pass from Gilbert in the first quarter for 20 yards. Cee Dee Lamb also made a small appearance but had two passes come his way, but both were off target.
The Dallas defense was stellar in not letting either of the Cardinals throw for a touchdown and did a great job keeping them out of the red zone. The Dallas defense forced two fumbles but only recovered one. The Dallas defense recorded four sacks, including two from Dorrance Armstrong, who is off to a good preseason.
As for the player of the game, I give it to rookie Jabril Cox who had eight total tackles, two of them being for losses. Honorable mentions to Cedric Wilson, who had 40 yards receiving.
The Cardinals second and third-team players played a good game with a stellar game from Rondell Morre, who had three recs for 23 yards, but the player of the game for them was perennial all-pro placekicker Matt Prater who went 4-4 on field goals, including a last-second four yarder to win it.
Again preseason is for the coaches to find out who belongs and who needs to go. Cuts will begin happening soon. Dak Prescot, Demarcus Lawrence, and Amari Cooper have all returned from injury and are ramping up their workouts, and Malik Hooker, who we probably won’t see until the fourth game. Next Saturday, the Cowboys face the Houston Texans in the battle for the Lone Star State.
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