The Cowboys left Arizona with a 34-13 preseason win, and a few players did real work for their roster cases along the way.
Dallas came out with more edge and more urgency than the Cardinals on both sides of the ball, and the result pushed the Cowboys to 2-0 with one preseason game left against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3. But the bigger takeaway was how several bubble players made themselves hard to ignore.
Jonathan Mingo turned in one of the night’s biggest plays. After entering the offseason looking like a player who might be on the outside looking in, he has used training camp and the preseason to change that picture.
Mingo had appeared in 14 regular-season games since Dallas acquired him in a trade during the 2024 season, but he had only six catches on 21 targets for 71 yards before this run. On Saturday, he finally delivered his first career touchdown, regular season or preseason, when Joe Milton dropped in a deep ball for a 53-yard score.
Mingo wasn’t the only receiver making noise. Camden Brown, the undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern, followed up his two-touchdown preseason debut in Week 1 with another eye-catching rep against Arizona.
Milton hit him over the middle, and Brown turned it into a 69-yard gain. He did lose the ball while stretching toward the goal line, but it rolled out of bounds, saving Dallas from a costly turnover.
Even with that scare, it was a strong play - Brown got open cleanly, set up the Cowboys at the one-yard line, and later added another catch while taking a heavy hit and hanging on.
Julius Wood also helped his case before a concussion cut his night short. He finished with seven tackles and was in on multiple run stops, showing the kind of fearless downhill play that stands out in preseason. There are still several safeties ahead of him on the Dallas depth chart, but he made a clear impression.
The quarterback battle behind Dak Prescott also shifted. Sam Howell had the edge a week earlier, but that changed in Arizona.
Milton got the start and looked composed and efficient in the first half, completing 9 of 13 passes for 179 yards and two touchdown throws. He also added a rushing score and guided Dallas to a 24-13 halftime lead.
Howell is still in the mix, but Milton moved back in front on Saturday night.
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