Dallas Cowboys 2022 NFL preseason round-up: Turpin, Tolbert, QB3 battle…

The Dallas Cowboys went into week 2 of their preseason coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos in week 1 that saw them barely squeak out seven points, but easily rack up 17 penalties. So their performance against the Los Angeles Chargers with just eight penalties (still too many, but significantly less…) and a 32-18 win is something to rejoice about for Cowboys fans.

Jalen Tolbert needs to step it up

With CeeDee Lamb as the no. 1 receiver and Michael Gallup and James Washington missing the start of the season, rookie Jalen Tolbert is supposed to be the Cowboys’ go-to no. 2 wide receiver to start out the regular season. That’s a lot to ask of a rookie and in the preseason so far though, he’s been underwhelming. His practices have been fine, but his performances in the games have left much to be desired.

In both preseason games, Tolbert caught a total of four passes for 35 yards. He has had a few dropped passes, something that was a problem during his time at South Alabama, too. His inability to keep his feet in bounds and miss a potential touchdown pass in the week 2 game against the Chargers is something that just can’t happen in the regular season. It was a rookie mistake by a rookie, and that’s what preseason is for, but he has to prove he can improve on those mistakes by the time the Cowboys take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to start the regular season on September 11. That leaves one final preseason game for Tolbert to dominate.

Correct. The Cowboys did very little in the offseason to improve their depth at WR, so now it all lies on Tolbert’s shoulders. Godspeed, rookie.

Turpin made his presence known

KaVontae Turpin locked his spot on the Cowboys roster on Saturday. The former TCU standout and USFL MVP’s pair of punt-return touchdowns, the first for 98 yards and the second for 86, were enough to convince us of that.

If you’re still not convinced, the fact that Turpin sat out the second half should help. That’s a good sign he’s looking to be the starter in week 1 of the regular season in three weeks.

“I think there’s a great chance that he will be returning kicks against Tampa Bay (in Week 1),” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “He’s dynamic in the return game. I think any time you have a new player come into your program that makes an impact like that, that’s unique. That was a big lift for us. I’m glad he’s with us.”

Cowboys defense stopping the run

We never want to get too excited or disappointed by what we see in the preseason, but there are obviously some signs for how the regular season might could possibly go. And the Cowboys defense is looking like it might could possibly be a positive. Last year’s Cowboys defense was dominant in almost every way, except at stopping the run. So far in the preseason this year, though…you can see they have been working on that.

The Cowboys preseason opener loss against the Broncos game didn’t have a lot of positive takeaways, but one of the only ones it did have was the Cowboys run defense. The Broncos ran the ball 22 times for 29 yards against the Cowboys, an average of 1.8 yards per carry. The Chargers in week 2 ran the ball 23 times for 53 yards against the Cowboys, an average of 2.3 yards per carry. Keeping in mind that this is just preseason backup vs backup data, that’s still a better look than what we saw last year, including in the preseason.

The Cowboys’ swing tackle problem

Josh Ball is currently the Cowboys’ best option at third offensive tackle, and that…is concerning. His poor performance against the Broncos and lack of impact in general is not exactly comforting. Tyron Smith has issues staying fully healthy and Matt Waletzko is now missing time due to a shoulder injury. It’s time for Dallas to consider signing a free agent or making a trade.

The only place the Cowboys have much depth to spare for a trade are on defense and they should consider it. They need a swing tackle to give Tyron Smith and Terrence Steele a reliable backup and to allow Tyler Smith to stay at left guard where he really belongs. Come on, Cowboys. Make it happen.

Quarterback 2 - Who do the Cowboys rely on? Rush vs Grier

If Dak Prescott goes down for any reason at all in the regular season, who can the Cowboys count on to take over and succeed? At the moment, that answer remains to be seen. Last year, it was Cooper Rush. He came in for Prescott against the Minnesota Vikings and it seems like the Cowboys are leaning towards making him the designated QB2 again this year.

It’s a shame that Tolbert didn’t make that touchdown with both feet in because it cost Rush some better-looking stats.

Neither Rush nor Will Grier really provides a lot of confidence at the backup quarterback position for Dallas. Grier was out with a groin injury in week 1 and Rush barely did anything to prove himself while Grier was out against the Broncos. In week 2 against the Chargers, Grier didn’t do much either. And yet, he is looking so far more aggressive than Rush.

Grier was six of ten passing for 98 yards against the Chargers and that was coming off his injury. Coach Mike McCarthy spoke highly of Grier’s “gritty performance”. The QB2 battle continues in the Cowboys’ final preseason game this Friday against the Seattle Seahawks.

RB3 - Dowdle vs Davis

Obviously, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are the Cowboys’ top two starting running backs. But the battle for the RB3 position isn’t one we saw coming. Rico Dowdle and rookie Malik Davis have both impressed in the Cowboys preseason so far. Dowdle has been the RB3 in the past, but Davis is making an argument for himself now, too.

During the Cowboys week 2 preseason game against the Chargers, Dowdle rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and Davis rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Davis also made a key block on one of KaVontae Turpin’s punt-return that allowed him to sneak through and get the touchdown.

Davis went undrafted after his college career in Florida and the Cowboys took a chance on him when they brought him in to visit before signing him as an UDFA. It’s highly unlikely the Cowboys will keep both Davis and Dowdle, so they will have a tough decision to make here and the final preseason game will have a lot at stake for the two.

You thought we were done talking about the Cowboys’ penalties? Never

Sure, the Cowboys went from 17 penalties in week 1 of the preseason to eight penalties in week two, but if you watched the game, you know that there were a few should-have-been penalties that the Cowboys got away with. Besides that, eight penalties for 57 yards still isn’t good. Rookie first-round pick OT Tyler Smith was one of those called for a penalty with a false start. Smith’s penalties were a problem in college, too. Rookie Sam Williams was another of those called for a penalty with an illegal use of hands call. Both of those rookies had penalties in week 1 against the Broncos, too. That’s not good enough and it can’t happen in the regular season.