11 Takeaways from Cowboys 22-14 preseason loss to Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys took their traveling road show further north this weekend, heading up the Pacific Coast to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. In their second exhibition game, Mike McCarthy made good on his vow to keep his stars out of harm’s way, sitting most of his starting lineup on both offense and defense. That means the Cowboys were once again playing a depth-chart level down against an opponent, and it led to an early deficit.

The team played well in many aspects, but in this game the defense certainly wasn’t at their best. The Seahawks were able to string together numerous big plays and in the end emerged victorious, 22-14. The loss drops Dallas to 0-2 in the preseason.

If the Cowboys’ goal was to escape injuries to key pieces, they certainly made the right decision as they suffered several players who were knocked out of the game. For those who were on the field it was a mixed bag performance, which is what one would expect when facing entire units expected to be better than yours. Here are our biggest takeaways from the contest.

Game Stats

Injuries to backups

First it was DeMarvion Overshown, the rookie linebacker going out with a knee injury. It’s feared Overshown has torn his ACL. When Dallas’ offense returned to the field, they were without Matt Waletzko who started at right tackle in place of Terence Steele. Waletzko was ruled out with a right shoulder injury.

Rookie tight end John Stephens is a converted wideout and UDFA who led the team in targets, receptions and yards in Week 1 while scoring the final touchdown. He, too, left the field not to return with a knee injury.

Safety Sheldrick Redwine also left the game with a hamstring injury.

Are the Cowboys going to have to get veteran depth for the line?

Even before the injury to Waletzko, there has been a level of concern about the backup offensive linemen. Dallas is holding out their starters, and the most important thing to remember is that the backups are currently surrounded by backups, not Pro Bowlers and All-Pros like they would be if they played in the regular season.

Still, it’s hard to identify any standouts among the group. It’s more like they have a handful of players who look like they could be serviceable.

Rico Dowdle is RB2, we think

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From the opening drive, it was clear. While Deuce Vaughn wowed everyone in the first preseason game, the running back I’ve been focused on all offseason has been Dowdle. Back when the backfield duo was Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, I used to campaign for Rico Dowdle to be the back that would take Elliott snaps if the star ever got injured. Dowdle has a long injury history, dating back to college at South Carolina, but the talent has always been there.

Dowdle was strong on the club’s first drive and finished off the second drive with a touchdown reception.

Nine touches, 38 yards and a score on the two drives combined.

He falls forward after contact, he can pass protect and he’s just got that it factor. He showed it on multiple plays against the Seahawks No. 1 defense.

Dowdle did have a horrible play for the second week in a row, though. Last week he fumbled at the goal line after an incredible run. This week he whiffed on a block that led to a blocked punt and a safety. These mistakes will not go over well with management.

Eric Scott's up and down first half

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As it becomes closer to reality that Jourdan Lewis won’t be on the initial 53 man roster while rehabbing his foot injury, the path to snaps for sixth-round rookie Eric Scott, Jr. becomes more clear. Once again, Dallas played the game with backups against the oppositions No. 1 units, and the moment wasn’t too big for him.

Scott raced over to successfully keep a Seahawks receiver from getting his second foot down on a sideline catch, but the refs blew the call. Later on the drive, Scott broke up a third-down target by getting his hand in.

It wasn’t all good, though. Scott gave up a 47-yard catch to fellow rookie Jaxson Smith-Njigba in the second quarter that led to a Seahawks TD on the next play.

Jalen Tolbert continues to show growth

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

On the very first third down for the Cowboys’ offense, Cooper Rush decided to go deep. His target? The second-season savant Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert has looked like a totally different player from his lackluster rookie campaign throughout camp. He had his first professional touchdown last week and on this play, facing the Seahawks starting corner Michael Jackson, he fought off defensive pass interference to haul in a 35-yard heave.

On the club’s next drive, although he bobbled before the catch, he converted on another third down, taking a slant for 15 yards. On the same drive, Tolbert almost came up with another third-down conversion, but Rush’s low pass hit the ground as Tolbert tried to get his hands under the ball.

It wasn’t all great for Tolbert, though, as later in the drive he dropped a second-down pass across the middle. The lapse didn’t thwart his conficende though, as Tolbert made yet another third-down catch to get Dallas inside the Seahawks’ 10-yard line

Sam Williams is ready for the regular season

One of the best small sample sizes of the 2022 season was the rookie campaign of Sam Williams. The second-round pick from Ole Miss played limited snaps, but turned in a strong performance with four sacks and 10 TFLs. On Saturday, he showed all of that on the Seahawks first two drives.

First he stuffed Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet for a one-yard gain. On Seattle’s second drive, Williams was able to push the Seahawks back with a third-down sack of Geno Smith.

Will Grier isn't challenging Cooper Rush

Said the same thing last week and this performance was only cement laid down. Will Grier needs to prove that he is good enough without the reps to warrant the reps, and he hasn’t done enough to get more snaps in practice. In a two-minute drive, Grier made a couple mental errors on second and third down. He could’ve ran for a first down at the two minute warning, and then he tried to run for the first on third down instead of choosing from two different open receivers.

The Cowboys have proven they can work around a bus driver backup, but the hope is one of your backups proves to be a guy you can run your entire offense is. If your backup is heading up the shuttle, a third-string QB needs to have a ceiling. Grier doesn’t appear to be that guy.

For the second straight week he appeared to work out his first-half issues with a strong second-half performance, only to throw an interception.

Kelvin Joseph makes a couple plays

Joseph is on the bubble after being a second-round pick just three drafts ago. He hasn’t been great, but he is making plays without being a liability. First he shot through on a slot blitz and disrupted a play in the first half. Later in the second half he made a strong play in coverage on third down to break up a play.

Isaiah Land continues to impress late in games

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UDFA edge rusher Isaiah Land isn’t getting run with the big boys, but when he comes in he is clearly above the level of his competition. That’s a testament to how deep the Cowboys’ pass rush is this year. In Week 1, Land came in late and drew not one, not two, but three holding calls.

This week, Land got a strip sack in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks recovered, avoiding the turnover, but the Florida A&M product who received one of the more sizable signing bonuses for undrafted free agents looks like with a little development he could be a real player. It’s doubtful that he would sneak past waivers onto the practice squad, but we say that about a ton of guys every year and get proven wrong.

Mazi Smith struggles

There’s no question the Cowboys’ first-round pick enters the league already one of its strongest players. What we’re seeing is that technique matters more than strength. Smith was turned around several times to create running lanes for Seahawks’ running backs.

Line play is hard to evaluate on the fly as there’s so much happening at the ball, but Smith was not at all impressive in his second game. He wasn’t impressive against Jacksonville either, but looked better than he did Saturday night. Fans may have to consider reeling back in expectations for the start of Smith’s career for at least a few weeks.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire