The Dallas Cowboys officially tied a bow on their preseason on Friday night and did so with a fun win over the Atlanta Falcons. It was great to see the Cowboys play well and do so in their home building. Preseason results don’t matter, but establishing some good vibes with the season opener less than two weeks away is a very good thing, especially with the recent headlines surrounding this team. Needless to say, it felt good for good things to happen.
Below you will find our final stock report for the exhibition part of the season. Next time we lace ‘em up it will be with the Cowboys either undefeated or having suffered defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Let’s begin.
Stock Up: James Houston
The Cowboys are going to have to find a way to get James Houston on the 53-man roster. He can play.
It goes without saying that pass rusher is where this team is most deep and Houston would add to that. He has shined and popped ever since joining the team and that he finished the preseason with a strong showing means he has done all he can.
Stock Up: Joe Milton
Joe Milton played the best game of his Dallas Cowboys career on Friday night. Easily.
This was his rushing touchdown on the night, but he had an impressive passing one as well (more on that in a moment). Beyond the stat sheet he finally looked calm and controlled while navigating the game as a quarterback. He and the coaching staff deserve serious kudos for getting things together.
We already knew that Milton was going to be this team’s QB2, but he likely calmed some of the waters of panic with his game against Atlanta. That the Cowboys leaned into his rushing ability is also really exciting as that is the most dynamic part of his game. If he ever did have to play in the regular season it would make sense to lean into that.
Stock Up: Jaydon Blue
Friday offered our first chance to see Jaydon Blue play football for the Cowboys and he absolutely lived up to the billing.
Blue would have an injury scare before the night was over (we will provide more information around here when it is available), but he is very clearly someone who can help this team immediately. Obviously that is when he is healthy.
It was wonderful to see Blue involved. All the best to him from a health standpoint.
Stock Up: Brandon Aubrey
Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal. A SIXTY-FOUR YARD FIELD GOAL.
It was only the preseason, but that gets a stock up every day of the week.
Stock Up: Jalen Brooks
It is going to be very interesting to see how many receivers the Cowboys carry and which ones they do. Clearly the Jonathan Mingo injury could play a role in that overall math.
The way that Jalen Brooks played is going to play a role as well. Look at this throw and catch (this was the aforementioned Milton pass).
Brooks has done a great job of scratching and clawing for opportunities ever since joining the Cowboys. Whether or not it works out this year will remain to be seen, but he gave it his best shot on Friday night.
Stock Up: Brian Schottenheimer
We have not had many opportunities to sing Brian Schottenheimer’s praises during the preseason and no one was happier to see the Cowboys just play football and do so well (what with all of the recent headlines as noted) than him.
Beyond the fact that the team appeared ready and focused for their final preseason game, it is particularly impressive that Schotty gave the offense the green light with under a minute left in the first half. It was that sequence that led to Aubrey’s booming swish from downtown.
Good for Brian Schottenheimer. It was only the preseason as noted, but it was technically his first time experiencing a win as the Dallas Cowboys head coach.
Stock Up: Shemar James
How about an interception for the rookie to close out the preseason?!
James has had a fantastic first run with the Cowboys. It will be a ton of fun to see how his rookie season goes.
Static Stock: Ryan Flournoy and Deuce Vaughn
You may have forgotten what static stock is… if it isn’t obvious it’s a player who was a little bit of both and bad.
With regards to this exact moment it is more about these players’ placement on the roster as far as the bad is concerned. Ryan Flournoy had a decent night against Atlanta, but it is hard to know if it was enough to earn him a spot with the final group.
This can also be said for running back Deuce Vaughn, but to a significantly lower degree. I imagine we all assume that Vaughn won’t make the final roster, but we should note that he played fairly well in what may have been his last game wearing the Cowboys uniform.
Stock Down: Mazi Smith
It is hard to keep banging this drum as it feels unproductive. Unfortunately for Mazi Smith, he did not exactly shine outside of when the Falcons left him completely unblocked.
Will the Cowboys go so far as cutting him? There is not a ton of precedent for them parting ways with a first-round pick before their rookie contract expired since the introduction of the rookie wage scale (Taco Charlton is the only instance… shout out to Ann Arbor).
That is a big question.
Stock Down: Penalties
While it wasn’t a huge situation, the Cowboys did struggle with penalties across the night. They even had a Troy Pride interception wiped away off of one.
These are small things and picking on them in the preseason feels like being hyper-focused. But penalties have been an issue for the Cowboys in recent history in their biggest moments and Brian Schottenheimer himself has made it a point to focus on them. They have to clean this up before Week 1.
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