A review of the Cowboys’ Saturday night loss vs. Ravens
ARLINGTON, Texas — — Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass and a pick-6 in his return to AT&T Stadium, and rookie Tyler Loop kicked five field goals as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Dallas Cowboys 31-13 on Saturday night. D’Ernest Johnson ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Ravens (2-0). Loop — the likely replacement for Justin Tucker, who was released in the offseason after he was accused of inappropriate behavior by massage therapists — connected from 53, 52, 42, 36 and 29 yards while missing from 50.
Cornerback Andrew Booth picked off Rush and returned it 40 yards for a TD, and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 47 and 36 yards for the Cowboys (0-2). Rush, who spent the previous seven seasons as Dak Prescott’s Dallas backup before signing as a free agent with Baltimore, flipped a 1-yard TD pass while backpedaling to Keith Kirkwood on a fourth-down play early in the second quarter. Rush played the first half, going 20 of 30 for 198 yards with two interceptions.
Rush’s first pick was a throw behind receiver LaJohntay Wester. Booth grabbed it and raced down the left sideline, avoiding tacklers during the final 10 yards. Joe Milton, looking to assume Rush’s role with the Cowboys this season, was 9 of 18 for 122 yards and one interception while playing 3 1/2 quarters. He connected with Jonathan Mingo for 49 yards to set up Aubrey’s first field goal.
Milton’s interception immediately followed one by Dallas’ Kemon Hall that deflected off the hands of running back Rasheen Ali. Milton’s heave from midfield into the end zone was picked off by safety Reuben Lowrey.
The fourth field goal by Loop came on a possession extended by a roughing-the-passer penalty against linebacker Darius Harris. Neither Prescott nor Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson was in uniform. Prescott received a few seconds of screen time on the stadium’s enormous videoboard, urging the fans to make noise before the fourth-down Baltimore play that resulted in Rush’s TD pass.The Ravens outgained the Cowboys 273 yards to 31 in building an 18-7 halftime lead. They ran 50 plays to the Cowboys’ 19 during the first half and totaled 16 first-half first downs to the Cowboys’ two.
Jerry Jones could already be experiencing some buyer’s remorse.
The Dallas Cowboys have some of the best individual players at their positions in the NFL, but they have an alarming lack of depth in multiple key areas. The preseason is exposing just how thin they are on the offensive side of the ball, putting even more pressure on starters Dak Prescott and Javonte Williams.
Both backup quarterback Joe Milton and former Philadelphia Eagles starter Miles Sanders were in line for an extensive workload in Dallas’ preseason duel against old friend Cooper Rush and the Baltimore Ravens. It took one drive for Dallas to immediately get concerned when watching those two try to take off.
Sanders was bottled up to the tune of a ghastly -4 yards rushing on two carries. After a huge stuff by the Ravens defense, Dallas’ attempt to break through with Milton under center, and he was promptly taken down for a safety that gave Baltimore a quick 2-0 lead. Milton failed to pull off any big plays on his second drive.
Dallas’ offseason is starting to lose more shine with each passing day. Picking Milton over a more established veteran quarterback and choosing to give Sanders a role that prominent in the wide-open backfield look like two mistakes that need to be corrected.
Cowboys relying on Joe Milton and Miles Sanders could be a mistake
Sanders is fresh off a terrible two-year stint with the Carolina Panthers in which he proved to be wholly inferior to Chuba Hubbard. Dallas has two rookies in Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, who will likely be licking their lips when they see Sanders struggle to put his foot down.
Milton certainly played well in his one-game debut with the New England Patriots, but he has looked a bit out of sorts in extended action. The arm is always going to be there, but the lack of accuracy and ability to sense pressure could be quite concerning for anyone expecting him to take a developmental step forward.
Lamb let off the hook by the NFL after sideline collision.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will not be fined by the NFL after being penalized for a collision with a referee in the restricted area of the sidelines during last week’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. Lamb managed to avoid injury despite being blindsided by the official. Lamb entered the path of side judge Anthony Jeffries. Players are not permitted to enter the white area of the sidelines during play.
“I hope the [official’s] OK. They said he’s OK, the official that he ran into, but we have to be better than that,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters after the game. “CeeDee knows better. We know better.” Referee Alex Moore called it a “rare situation” after the contest.
“Normally, we don’t have anybody standing that deep into the restricted area or that type of forceful contact,” he added. “So it is a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.”
Lamb joked on social media after the game, “I feel like everyone needs a laugh,” regarding the situation, though Schottenheimer was less pleased with the team’s lack of discipline during the contest and bemoaned the 11 penalties committed.
Cowboys may have unearthed another gem in Kentucky undrafted free agent.
Who will be the Dallas Cowboys’ nickel cornerback in 2025? We asked it when the season ended, we asked it during free agency, we asked it in the draft, and we asked it at the start of training camp, and at no point has anyone been able to definitively answer that question. Now, mere weeks away from the regular season opener on September 4, it doesn’t appear much has changed.
The rest of the Cowboys secondary is in fairly good order, injuries notwithstanding. Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson offer pedigree and experience to the safety positions. DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs are proven All-Pro CBs while Shevon Revel and Kaiir Elam bring top tier skillsets and aspirations of All-Pro honors themselves. Depth players like Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas, Israel Mukuamu, Josh Butler and Caelen Carson round out the unit, making the Dallas secondary a fairly impressive collection of talent. Yet, there’s no clear answer at nickel CB.
That is, until Zion Childress started to flash. Childress, an undrafted free agent rookie, has been offering quite the spark at nickel CB. The converted safety has a natural instinct for coverage inside, making him a surprise solution in the preseason. He’s strong in run support, shows a nose for the football, holds the innate ability to navigate through heavy traffic, and he’s a former team captain to boot. In no time he went from practice squad hopeful to possible top option at CB3. If he can keep the good times going, he could very well start for the Cowboys in Week 1 and significantly alter the state of the secondary in 2025.
With Revel and Diggs likely to miss games early this season, the Cowboys are searching for band-aids anywhere they can find them. Since being acquired in an offseason trade with Buffalo, Elam has looked excellent as an outside CB. And the Cowboys have made it clear they prefer to keep Bland outside where he earned All-Pro honors in 2023. It leaves most of the potential nickel solutions up to the safety room to address.
If Childress can keep up the strong play and lay claim to a regular role in the nickel spot, he could help the Cowboys save roster spots at CB. Together with Mukuamu, Bell and Thomas, the Cowboys could effectively hold the fort as the injured CBs return to the field. They aren’t ideal solutions at nickel CB but again, there never really was an ideal option in Dallas.
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