By Mark Halpern
The Dallas Cowboys played their final preseason game today against the Jaguars and lost 34-14. The Big Cats made us look like a minor Pee Wee football team. Yes, mind you, not many starters started on the offense and very few on defense. Dallas coaches will begin to decide who is staying and who will be going. Some of those cuts will come as soon as Monday.
The story of the preseason was who was going to be the backup quarterback in Dallas? If we were judging just by today, then it wouldn’t be Cooper Rush. He was the only reserve quarterback not to throw a touchdown. His play has been erratic, and still, he isn’t the worst option. Ben DeNucci, who did pass for a score, has been the weakest this entire preseason. His passes are all over the place, and sometimes he doesn’t show much confidence. This leaves us with Garrett Gilbert, who did throw a touchdown and completed fifty percent of his passes. None of these three deserve to be on the team, but you must have a backup in case of injuries. The Cowboys restructured Elliot’s contract earlier in the week to free up a chunk of cap room. The question is, which quarterback are they going to go after this close to the season?
Let’s look at the positives from today. The cowboys did not turn over the ball but did force a turnover on an interception. Well, that was easy. The Cowboys brought out second and third-rounders to see where they had to trim the fat in the upcoming days. This version of the Cowboys defense let Trevor Lawrence go off today. Trevor threw 11/12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. They then let Jake Luton come in and throw 16/18 for 137 yards and one touchdown to make things worse. If the Jacksonville Jaguars come out like this on week one, then the league better watch out.
Tuesday, Aug 31st, 4 pm is the time limit teams must cut down to the magic number of 53 players. I will say that some choices will be challenging, especially on the defensive side. The Cowboys have the best linebacking crew in football, and depth in that position is perfect. They will be cutting more offensive players than defensive. I see Ben DeNucci staying with the Cowboys but on the practice squad. As for others, it will be a wait-and-see.
Look for my article this week on the cut down to 53 and my predictions for the season.
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