LAS VEGAS – Not that any preseason game will ever be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but if Canton ever decides to bubble wrap a single game, it won’t be this one Saturday night in Las Vegas.
But that’s never what these games are about. Staying healthy is the ultimate goal and winning the game is always a nice bonus. However, the goal of all coaches is to see improvement, especially week to week.
And there’s no denying that the Cowboys looked like a completely different team here on Saturday night than they did six days ago in Los Angeles.
Here too, the result of 27-12 should be thrown out the window. Just like last week, it didn’t matter; this time the win is a nice bonus, but not the highlight of the evening.
The Cowboys have been getting better. That started on Wednesday, when they made a surprise acquisition of veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips from the Giants for next to nothing – trading a sixth-round pick for a seventh-round pick in 2026. That’s two years from now, but it took about two days for him to get here and make a difference.
I was surprised Phillips even played, and he played the first two series. In my opinion – and it was pretty high in the press box at Allegiant Stadium – Phillips took every snap. That’s very impressive for someone his size who hasn’t practiced all week and just got here, but he was able to get going right away.
I can tell you that Phillips is going to be a difference maker. I’ve watched him every game, and while he doesn’t get the ball every time, he’s someone teams have to reckon with. At 345 pounds, Phillips is as big as a house and is simply impossible to move with just one man. There were a few times where he was held up at the line of scrimmage by double coverage, but he wasn’t really pushed back.
Just think of what a player like that under center can do for this defense when you have Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence on the outside and a linebacker like Eric Kendricks under center.
Phillips was officially credited with one tackle, and it wasn’t even a solo tackle. But there’s no doubt the Cowboys will have a better defense with Phillips anchoring the middle, even if he rotates with Mazi Smith as nose tackle. For him to come in and make eight or nine plays in a row is an impressive debut at a position that’s needed a lot.
OK, how else have the Cowboys improved?
The running backs now seem to have a little more depth – so the Cowboys have to make some difficult decisions.
But having Deuce Vaughn back on the field this week seemed to be a big deal for this offense. We all know Deuce rhymes with “juice,” and No. 42 had some of that on Saturday night. He actually had it on Wednesday when he returned to practice after a more than week-long layoff with a hamstring injury, and he was able to carry that into the game.
Personally, I thought Vaughn had the best run of any game we’ve seen since he got here. And yes, I know he had some touchdowns last year in preseason, but those were against guys that probably didn’t even make the NFL roster. On Saturday, Vaughn came into the game with most of the Raiders’ starters on defense, including Maxx Crosby. But his 12-yard run where he outran a couple guys was good enough to turn heads here in the press box. It earned a few chants of “Deuuuuuce” from the Cowboys fans in the stands, and you know it caught the attention of Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy, who have been waiting for him to make the jump in his sophomore year. It’s early, but Vaughn looked really good, and Royce Freeman wasn’t bad, either. I think with these two, Malik Davis and Hunter Luepke, it will be interesting to see how the running back team stacks up behind Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle.
And let’s talk about the third quarterback. Trey Lance was much better this time. Hey, his passes still miss sometimes, but he looked more confident on offense and even got the ball into the end zone – thanks to a 1-yard touchdown pass before halftime.
OK, so it wasn’t RIGHT before halftime. Because that belonged to Brandon Aubrey, who made a 66-yard field goal kick as time expired. It’s not like the Cowboys got much better as a team because of that kick, and it’s probably not a kick McCarthy would attempt very often in the regular season. But let’s not forget how accurate he continues to be, whether it’s from 54 or 66 yards. What a week for Aubrey, who left training camp for a few days to witness the birth of his son. He comes back and thunders a kick that would have set an NFL record in a regular season game.
Aubrey is an absolute weapon as it seems like the Cowboys are always in field goal range or close to it.
And just to be safe, the Cowboys may have a new center in Cooper Beebe. Last week, it looked like Brock Hoffman would get the job, but after playing in practice and in his first start on the first team on Saturday, Beebe was quite impressive – and it’s important to remember that he was playing against the Raiders’ starting defense.
All in all, there are a lot of things the Cowboys need to get right, but in a game like this, there were also a few things to be happy about.
And beyond that, a few things that made the Cowboys a better team than they were last Sunday.
