The Dallas Cowboys’ second preseason game wound up being the first victory of 2019. But more important than the irrelevant standings in August, the game helped us further see who deserves to make the roster this season. The 14-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Hawaii helped to reinforce things we saw in last week’s game versus the 49ers.
Rookie Tony Pollard, starting at running back again due to Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout, scored the first Cowboys touchdown of the preseason with a 14-yard redzone scamper on the team’s initial drive.
Pollard had 42 rushing yards on just five carries, plus a nine-yard reception, on that one drive. It was an even more productive game than last week, and an encouraging sign if Zeke’s absence were to linger beyond the preseason.
Also building on last week was backup QB Cooper Rush, who left no doubt that he’s the superior player to Mike White with his play tonight. Coming in with the third-team offense, Rush completed 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
White, who got a chance to come in after Dak Prescott this game, managed just 30 yards on 7/13 pass attempts. He threw a horrible interception on the first drive of the second half, at which point Dallas sent in Rush and ended Mike’s night.
At this point, it looks like White’s bid to compete for the backup QB job and perhaps even a roster spot have ended as well.
Other Notes
- Dak Prescott remains perfect this preseason, completing 5/5 passes for 64 yards on his one drive. He was 4/4 last week against San Francisco. Tonight’s throws were highlighted by a 31-yard pass on third down to Michael Gallup to move the chains and help set up Pollard’s touchdown run.
- Speaking of continued trends, Brett Maher remains suspect with a bad miss on a 52-yard field goal. Maher went wide left from the right hashmark, albeit from long range and dealing with windy conditions. But he also barely made one of the extra point attempts; still cause for concern after some bad signs a week ago.
- Trending upward is WR Devin Smith, who caught Cooper Rush’s TD pass with an athletic leaping grab in the endzone. Smith is starting to remind us why he was a 2nd-round pick in the 2015 Draft, and is standing out over hyped prospects like Jon’Vea Johnson and Reggie Davis in recent days.
- Johnson had two more drops tonight to continue his own storyline from a week ago. Last week it was Cedrick Wilson who outclassed him, and this week it was Devin Smith. Either way, the Jon’Vea stock is now moving in the wrong direction.
- The stock is going up on LB Justin Phillips, who looked good last week and even better tonight with an interception and seven tackles. While small at just 6’0″ and 230 lbs., Phillips has been much more visible in these games than Chris Covington and other linebackers prospects.
