For the second straight week in this preseason schedule, the Cowboys used a strong defense and impressive quarterback play to earn a solid win, this time taking down the Arizona Cardinals, 34-13.
Joe Milton got the start behind center in this one and continued his impressive August by contributing three touchdowns. He completed 69.2% of his passes for 179 yards with two scores and no interceptions for a hefty 151.4 passer rating. He also rushed for a score to basically put the game out of reach after 30 minutes of play.
Taking over in the final two quarters was Sam Howell, who couldn't quite match Milton's success. He did complete 70% of his passes but totaled 65 yards with one interception for a 47.9 passer rating.
And the battle for the final wide receiver spot (or spots) showed no signs of slowing down as Camden Brown followed up his highlight-reel effort a week ago with 77 receiving yards off two catches against the Cardinals. But Jonathan Mingo went step for step, grabbing two receptions as well for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Christian Parker's defense kept the momentum rolling by allowing only one touchdown while giving hints that this unit might have some depth this year. A true standout was rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who was making his debut after sitting out last week due to a groin issue. The third-round pick racked up five tackles in limited work, which included a tackle for loss and some notable hits.
First Quarter
The Cowboys took their first possession down to the Arizona 12-yard line, but failed to move the chains on fourth-and-1, turning the ball over on downs. However, the Dallas defense kept the team in prime position when cornerback Shavon Revel picked off a Gardner Minshew pass at the Cardinals' 34 and returned the pick inside the 10-yard line. Three plays later, Milton threw a toss to Malik Davis for the 8-yard score and an early 7-0 lead.
Bumping the advantage up another seven points didn't take long. After the defense forced a three-and-out, Milton again only needed three snaps to reach the end zone. This time, though, the touchdown came thanks to a perfectly thrown bomb to Mingo, who got behind the defense and raced 53 yards for the score.
Second Quarter
Arizona opened the second quarter with a 38-yard field goal to get on the board, but the damage could have been worse. Dallas caught a break when not one, but two touchdowns were called back because of Cardinals penalties, thank you very much.
Regardless, the Cowboys offense stayed in rhythm, coming right back with another big play. On third-and-3 at his own 29, Milton rolled to his left to avoid pressure and threw a nice pass to Brown in space. The rookie wideout then turned on the jets, racing down the left sideline 70 yards to the Arizona 1-yard line. That left the scoring honors to Milton, who crossed the goal line on a quarterback draw for a 21-3 advantage.
Following another Cardinals field goal, this time a 31-yarder that again came after Arizona had a touchdown negated due to a penalty, the Cowboys got the ball back with 3:30 left in the half. Which, of course, was plenty of time to get into field goal range for Brandon Aubrey, the perennial Pro Bowler splitting the uprights from 50 yards out to put Dallas up, 24-6, at the break.
Third Quarter
The Cardinals weren't going to go quietly into the night, opening the second half with a lengthy drive to the end zone. They marched 64 yards in 12 plays with Minshew completing 4 of 5 passes for 39 yards. Running back Corey Kiner finished things off with a 1-yard run off left tackle to make things more interesting, 24-13.
Although the Cowboys now had a new quarterback behind center in Howell, the offense didn't skip a beat. An 11-play, 57-yard drive reached the Arizona 11-yard line, where Aubrey added another three points with a 29-yard field goal.
Fourth Quarter
With the bottom of the depth charts now on the field, the final frame saw the defenses largely control the action. Dallas made another run deep into enemy territory, but on third-and-2 at the Arizona 12-yard line, Howell's pass into the end zone was intercepted.
But when the defense then stopped the Cardinals on fourth-and-3 at the Arizona 38-yard line, the Cowboys were set up with great field position. And they took advantage, needing six plays to reach pay dirt. The touchdown came when running back Phil Mafah started right, then switched gears and went back around the left end the final 15 yards for the touchdown.
With that, the Cowboys finished out another good exhibition effort and moved to 2-0 in the preseason.
