The Dallas Cowboys once again fell behind early in the preseason and lost to the Baltimore Ravens 31-13.
Although these preseason games do not count toward the Cowboys’ overall record once the regular season begins, there are still important aspects of each preseason matchup that should help the team moving forward.
Here are three takeaways from the Cowboys’ second preseason matchup leading into the 2025 season:
Joe Milton’s Struggles Should Prompt a Search for a Backup Quarterback
Dallas again chose to sit the vast majority of starters during this matchup against the Ravens, providing valuable on-field opportunities for many of the players looking to solidify their spots on the 53-man roster.
One of these players is backup quarterback Joe Milton, who played the first one and a half quarters in the game before sitting out the remainder of the game.
Although Milton has established himself as the team’s preferred backup quarterback, he struggled to find a rhythm for a second straight preseason game.
Many of these issues come with Milton’s issues with layering the ball, as he is seemingly unable to consistently put any loft on the ball to allow for easy catches that drop in his receiver’s hands.
While this may not seem like a major issue with Dak Prescott set to enter the season fully healthy, potentially relying on Milton for a few games in the regular season could result in disaster for Dallas.
Naturally, any major injury that will keep Prescott sidelined for a significant amount of time will likely be the end of the season, but Milton does not even look capable of managing the team through a short absence by Prescott.
This is also not specifically a bad thing.
The Cowboys traded for Milton in exchange for just a seventh-round draft pick, indicating that there is no expectation for him to take over at the position anytime soon.
Milton was always meant to be a project for Dallas over the coming years as a player who has all the physical tools necessary to be successful. Still, the Cowboys would be smart to add one more reliable quarterback to the roster in the event of injuries suffered by Prescott.
Cowboys Young Offensive Lineman Showing Promise
Dallas is set to enter the 2025 season with a few major questions along the offensive line, as there are a few positions in which the team is expected to have a few growing pains.
Notably, Dallas is already dealing with injuries suffered by left tackle Tyler Guyton and guard Rob Jones, who was recently placed on season-ending injured reserve.
As a result, Dallas could be forced to rely on multiple young offensive linemen.
While the offensive line is often seen as a position that takes time to fully understand, the Cowboys may have struck gold with a few of their draft picks.
Dallas utilized a first-round draft selection on guard Tyler Booker in the 2025 NFL Draft, with every indication being that the team expects him to start in his rookie season.
Booker did not play during the Cowboys’ first preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, but the first-round pick played a total of 15 pass-blocking snaps against the Ravens in this matchup without allowing a single pressure, according to Marcus Mosher.
Booker was also incredibly impressive in the run game, as the team saw the most success when running to the right side behind him.
Dallas has struggled to develop a run game over the past few seasons, but Booker was extremely solid during these play calls and gave the Cowboys’ running backs space to find a gap and reach the second level.
While this performance does not guarantee that Booker will become one of the Cowboys’ guards of the future, the early indications are that the franchise’s investment will pay off in the long term.
Schottenheimer Not Worried About Slow Start
The final takeaway, and arguably the most important, comes from Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer, who said he is not concerned about the multitude of issues over the first two preseason games.
Schottenheimer discussed the struggles following the most recent loss and said no one is concerned at this point, noting that there is still time to fix small holes and find a groove before the regular season begins.
“We’re not going to panic, and we’re not pushing the panic button, we’re pushing the work button, and that’s we’re going to do,” he explained, per The Cowboys.
Despite the calm attitude, Schottenheimer said the organization is prepared to make adjustments and is “not going to say that this is just a preseason game.”
“We’re not going to just say, ‘Oh, we’re fine.’ We’re going to look at it. The fact that we lost both halves, that’s something we have to get corrected. There’s too many good football players, there’s too many good coaches for us to perform the way we did tonight,” he added, per The Cowboys.
This reaction from Schottenheimer is unsurprising following comments during training camp that the team would reveal very little during the preseason.
Schottenheimer said earlier in training camp that the plan for the preseason is to keep game plans and strategies simple, saying that the team will be “playing with a 7-iron” in many of these matchups, according to Patrik Walker.
The first-year head coach is making it a point to avoid providing scouting information leading into the regular season, with the expectation that more nuanced schemes will arrive before the Cowboys’ opening regular-season matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 4.