The Cowboys’ defensive backfield already has a different feel to it, even if it’s only August and even if the first preseason game came with every familiar disclaimer attached.
Sunday’s matchup with the Seahawks was never going to tell the full story. Most of the players on the field won’t be around when the 53-man roster is set, and preseason numbers have a way of fading once the games start counting. Still, the details from that opener were hard to miss.
Start with the tackling. Bobby Belt noted that Dallas had 19 missed tackles in last year’s preseason opener.
This time, Next Gen Stats charted the Cowboys with zero. That alone doesn’t prove anything long term, but it does point to a cleaner defensive showing than what fans saw a year ago.
The passing numbers tell a similar story. Dallas allowed a defensive passer rating of 88.8 against Seattle.
That’s nearly 12 points better than what the Cowboys gave up in last year’s preseason opener, and it’s also lower than all but one of their regular-season games from 2025. Last season, Dallas finished with a 109.6 defensive passer rating, worst in the league.
Sunday’s figure would have ranked 13th in the NFL over the full 2025 season.
It wasn’t just one standout defender skewing the result, either. The Seahawks didn’t spend much time trying to stress Dallas vertically, and Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe didn’t have much success when they did. The deep-ball work simply wasn’t there in volume or in results.
That showed up across the secondary. Every Cowboys cornerback who played on Sunday posted a lower defensive passer rating than the 114.8 average the team’s cornerbacks allowed in 2025. The highest individual DPR among the corners was 99.0, still well below last year’s group average.
The safety play was even more striking. Dallas safeties averaged a 134.6 DPR last season, but the five safeties who saw action against Seattle were targeted only once. That throw fell incomplete, leaving them with a combined DPR of 39.6.
So, for one preseason game, the second- and third-team secondary looked nothing like the unit Dallas rolled out last year. That’s a meaningful development, even if it’s far too early to stamp it as a trend.
The next test comes against a different kind of challenge. The Cardinals put up a 130.6 passer rating in their first preseason game, and that could push the Cowboys in a very different direction. Next week may tell a different story - or it may add another piece of evidence that this defense really is showing something new.
In Other News...
Cowboys Suddenly Have An Eagles Opening Worth Watching
Philadelphias pass rush plan has taken on a more uncertain feel as training camp drags on, and that is the kind of development Dallas will notice. The Eagles invested heavily in Jonathan Greenard, bringing him in via trade and backing it up with a sizable contract, so his availability matters far beyond one roster spot. What was once described as a non-long-term issue has become a lingering question, with Greenard still working his way back after a pec injury suffered in the weight room.
For the Cowboys, any hint of instability up front in Philadelphia is worth tracking because the Eagles have built around disrupting quarterbacks. Vic Fangios defense was counting on Greenard to be part of that pressure package, and the longer he remains sidelined, the more the Eagles have to adjust. The real concern now is not just when he returns, but whether the season opens with one of Philadelphias key additions already behind schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Crossed A Line In Practice And Schottenheimer Made It Clear
Joint practices are supposed to sharpen a team before the games matter, but the Cowboys and Saints spent too much of their latest session breaking up skirmishes instead of getting clean work done. One of the flash points came when linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected after throwing a punch, a moment that left Dallas offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer plainly frustrated with how the day unfolded.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys need aggression with discipline, not the kind that turns a practice into a mess and robs both sides of productive reps. He also pointed back to Ezeiruaku's previous practice incident, making clear that the lesson has to sink in quickly for a team trying to use these joint sessions to get better, not to spend them watching tempers flare. [Read more 🡒]
Trevon Diggs Just Gave Cowboys Fans A Rival Reunion To Watch
Trevon Diggs is back on the market in a way Cowboys fans did not see coming, and the latest stop is giving this move some extra intrigue. After being waived by Dallas in December, the cornerback has signed with the Seattle Seahawks, a fresh chance for a player who has been trying to reestablish himself after injury-shortened seasons.
The reunion angle gets even more interesting because Stefon Diggs, his brother and now a Washington Commanders receiver, reposted the news and weighed in on the move. For Dallas fans, the storyline now stretches beyond the waiver wire and into familiar connections Trevon already has with Seattle coaches and players, setting up a new chapter that carries plenty of emotional and football stakes. [Read more 🡒]