Dallas Cowboys: 5 Standouts from preseason loss to Cardinals
The Dallas Cowboys lost at Arizona on Friday night in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL preseason but these players delivered standout performances worth praising.
It’s a good thing for the Dallas Cowboys that the preseason wins and losses don’t mean anything and that the biggest goal is to iron out the kinks because there are plenty to iron out. With Dak Prescott and several starters again sitting out as they did in the Hall of Fame Game, we got another good look at young players and backups who, especially in a clutch late-game situation, played like it.
The end result was a 19-16 loss but, again, that doesn’t matter. And if we’re looking at negatives from the matchup, injuries definitely stand out. Likely starting defensive tackle Neville Gallimore went out with a potentially serious arm injury while several others were also forced to exit. In that regard, this wasn’t a great day for Dallas.
However, we’re going to focus on some of the positives from the losing effort, namely the players who popped off the screen for one reason or another.
Dallas Cowboys Preseason Week 1 Standout No. 5: Linebackers
Jaylon Smith — a player who continues to look slow in the preseason, which is troublesome — the linebacker group in Dallas keeps looking stronger with each passing game and practice. While Micah Parsons flashed in the Hall of Fame Game, it was newcomers Keanu Neal and Jabril Cox who were able to put their stamp on the loss to Arizona on Friday night.
Neal has endured a bit of an up-and-down training camp to this point but you could argue that facing the Cardinals gave us the best of the converted safety. He was aggressive yet smart in attacking the football and came up with a big forced fumble and recovery to really allow him to stand out.
In the case of the rookie Cox, we haven’t heard too much from him in camp but we saw what the rookie is capable of on Friday. He was all over the field, showcasing impressive speed, and continued to be a bright spot in coverage. If he can continue to show out as a run defender, he should see rotational snaps in the 2021 season.