Seven months removed from a disappointing end to the 2024 season, the Dallas Cowboys are finally getting back onto the football field again.
Granted, it’s a preseason game and likely not to feature any opening day starters. But it will be the first time Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer leads the team onto the field.
Following Tuesday’s scrimmage against the Rams, the Cowboys’ opponent tonight, Schottenheimer acknowledged that Dallas was very vanilla in its approach.
https://twitter.com/NickHarrisFWST/status/1953178551114711389He is expecting the team’s approach to be the same in tonight’s game.
The main thing to watch for tonight will be some of the depth chart battles that will play out over the next two weeks or so. Especially at running back and wide receiver.
Tonight’s Game
Assuming you don’t have a ticket to be at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the 6 p.m. (CDT) kickoff, your best option will be to catch the game on NFL+. Local stations in Texas might also carry the game too.
Some things to look out for will be:
Which way will Schottenheimer wear his visor?
After being called out by Colin Cowherd for wearing his visor backwards, Schottenheimer flipped it around at a camp presser with a snarky apology to Cowherd.
It was the perfect response to a silly, non-issue. Especially so given Cowherd dropped Dallas from a six-win team to a two-win team over the visor alone.
The Cowboys are probably going to have a bad season in 2025.
It has nothing to do with Schottenheimer’s visor.
Players To Watch
With Parsons possibly having played his last game in Dallas, unless Jerry Jones comes to his senses soon, Parsons’ replacement will need to be found.
Marshawn Kneeland seems to have the inside track. But second-round pick Donavan Ezeiruaku has been impressing at camp so far.
If he can have a solid preseason run, he could be Parsons replacement when the Cowboys open the year in Philadelphia.
The most important thing for Dallas will be to get out of the game without any serious injuries. They’ve been getting banged up enough in practices.
The History
The Cowboys will hopefully snap a couple of preseason-related losing streaks tonight.
They haven’t won the first game of a preseason since 2017.
Dallas beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-18 that year. A Sam Irwin-Hill 43-yard field goal won the Hall of Fame game for the Cowboys in Canton, Ohio that year.
Dallas is 0-6, with the 2020 preseason wiped out by COVID, since that win.
The last time the Cowboys beat the Rams in a preseason game was a 14-10 victory in 2019. The Rams have won the last two preseason meetings since.
