The Dallas Cowboys head to Glendale on Saturday night for their second preseason test, and once again the spotlight will be on who isn’t playing just as much as who is.
Dallas meets the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Week 2 of the NFL preseason, with kickoff set for 10:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
And if you were hoping to see a full slate of Cowboys starters, that’s not the plan. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer made that clear before camp even got rolling.
“We’re not going to play a lot of our starters during the preseason,” Schottenheimer said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “There’s something to the young guys playing a little bit, and we do it in the first two games.
I think that’s part of it. Usually, you don’t play many of those guys in the third preseason game, but it’s something that we’re very serious about.”
So while the marquee names are expected to stay on the sideline again, Saturday still carries plenty of intrigue. Week 1 brought a strong showing from wide receiver Camden Brown, who emerged as a real candidate to grab a spot on the 53-man roster. The offensive line depth chart is still being sorted out, too, and there are meaningful questions to answer in the backup quarterback battle.
Dallas also has rotational jobs to sort through on the defensive line and in the secondary. In other words, the roster may be light on star power, but the stakes for the players on the field are very real.
Here’s the setup for Saturday night:
Date: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Start Time: 10:00 p.m.
ET
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Venue: State Farm Stadium
TV Info: NFL Network & Local listings
Betting Odds: Cardinals -1.5 | O/U: 37.5 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Moneyline: Cowboys -102 | Cardinals -118
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
After this one, the Cowboys will close out the preseason at home against the New Orleans Saints on Friday, August 28, at 7:00 p.m. ET in AT&T Stadium. Before that finale, Dallas will also hold a handful of open practices for fans in Frisco, Texas.
Then comes roster cutdown day, with the Cowboys trimming to 53 players and turning fully toward the regular season. That opening game is a primetime date with the New York Giants on Sunday, September 13, at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
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Todd Archer of ESPN projects that possibility, and it speaks to how much the backup battle has shifted from a routine depth issue to a real decision point. The Cowboys still have not settled the spot behind Prescott, and with the preseason winding down, the outcome is less about naming a favorite and more about deciding whether either Howell or Milton has done enough to force an extra quarterback onto the roster. [Read more 🡒]