The Dallas Cowboys officially kicked off the 2024 NFL preseason with a 13-12 loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
While some may see the loss as a cause for concern for the Cowboys’ Super Bowl chances this season, preseason games are not always indicative of what to expect during the regular season because coaches and players often experiment with their play style.
Many of the Cowboys’ starters did not play or were only in the game for limited snaps, yet there are still valuable takeaways from the first action of the upcoming season:
Cowboys Should Prepare for Life After Al Harris
Harris joined the Cowboys coaching staff in 2020 as a defensive backs coach and immediately made an impact on the secondary.
Dallas has become one of the most disruptive secondaries in the league as Harris helped develop players such as Trevon Diggs, Donovan Wilson, and Jayron Kearse.
Since his first season with the franchise, Harris has helped lead the Cowboys’ secondary to become one of the best at intercepting opposing quarterbacks.
Dallas has managed to accumulate at least 16 interceptions in each of the last three seasons, including leading the league with 26 interceptions during the 2021 season.
This stretch also had both Diggs and DaRon Bland leading the league in interceptions by a single player. Diggs collected 11 interceptions in 2021, and Bland had 9 in the 2023 season.
The Cowboys chose to promote Harris to assistant head coach this offseason but could still be at risk of losing him next year.
Multiple teams were rumored to have considered Harris this past offseason as a defensive coordinator option, though he chose to remain with the Cowboys for at least one more year after he was promoted.
Dallas is on pace to once again have one of the best defenses in the entire league and new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is already looking like a perfect fit alongside Harris.
Zimmer’s approach focuses heavily on the defensive line’s ability to disrupt opposing teams’ run games and put pressure on the quarterback, while Harris’ secondary relies on aggressive play that results in turnovers.
This strategy was highlighted over the weekend as the Cowboys baited Rams backup quarterback Stetson Bennet into throwing four interceptions while allowing only one touchdown toward the end of the game.
While Harris was looking like a candidate to leave the franchise this past offseason, another solid season from the Cowboys’ secondary will almost definitely put him atop the list for teams on the hunt for a new play-caller next season.
Dallas Needs to Pay Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb
The Cowboys opted against playing Prescott, along with various other starters, in this preseason game while Lamb was unavailable as he continues to sit out amid contract negotiations with the team.
After watching Trey Lance and the young receiving core play for the majority of the game, the Cowboys should accept that both Prescott and Lamb need to be locked up on new contracts.
Lance finished the game with 188 yards on 25/41 passing but failed to score a single touchdown during his time on the field.
The former third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has shown very little promise through the first three full seasons of his career, passing for less than 800 total yards as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys.
Lance’s lackluster performance through the first weeks of training camp and his performance in the game against the Rams should give Dallas even more reason to commit to Prescott in the future.
While Lance would have benefited from better receivers, the Cowboys’ receiving core as a whole is a question mark without Lamb on the field.
Outside of Lamb, Brandin Cooks is the only wide receiver on the Cowboys roster who has proven to be a valuable asset.
The 30-year-old receiver had a solid 2023 season with Dallas after finishing the year with 657 yards and eight touchdowns as the team’s second receiving option, though his production in the future remains unclear due to his age.
Players such as Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin have shown the potential to be meaningful players for Dallas in the future. Still, their development cannot be guaranteed after slower starts to their careers.
Moving forward, the Cowboys must extend Prescott and Lamb if the franchise hopes to compete for a Super Bowl.
The good news for the franchise is that there are still two preseason games before the first regular season game against the Cleveland Browns on September 8, meaning there is still time to discuss contracts with the franchise’s stars.
Dallas will play its second preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday at 9 p.m., followed by the final preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on August 24 at 3 p.m.