The Bad News

Traditionally, the third game of the NFL preseason is referred to as the “dress rehearsal”. Typically this dress rehearsal will feature a team’s bona-fide starters for anywhere between 2-2.5 quarters of play. It is a great opportunity to get a final look and analysis of a team’s starting 22-man-unit going into the new season. Unfortunately for the 2018 Dallas Cowboys, they no longer have the luxury of an extended look at their starters. With hamstring injuries, groin injuries, hyper-extended knees, and even autoimmune diseases causing havoc to our beloved boys in blue, the Cowboys’ brass simply cannot risk additional injuries to their starters in a game that simply doesn’t matter.

The Cowboys certainly feel uneasy about placing starting quarterback Dak Prescott behind an offensive line which will feature only one of the projected regular season starters. Once a team makes the decision to sit their starting quarterback, benching the rest of the key starters really isn’t that difficult. No offense to backup quarterback Cooper Rush, but his chemistry with running back Ezekiel Elliot doesn’t justify risking the star back to injury, so expect Elliot to sit as well.

The Good News

It takes a village to raise a child. It also takes 53 highly trained athletes to play a professional football game. For those deeper down the depth chart, every snap matters. Every additional play they have the opportunity to participate in pays dividends for themselves as well as the coaching staff. Every snap a star player sits for, a reserve Cowboy is getting a deeper live-action evaluation. While this is useful for determining roster cuts, it is also beneficial for reorganizing the depth chart. Moving a linebacker from 4th to 3rd might improve the rotation quality a team’s defense might have at any given moment. These kind of factors aren’t always exciting to watch and look for; however, they could ultimately make the difference between Dallas making the postseason or watching from home.

That Being Said, Watch For This On Sunday

Joe Looney-  With Travis Frederick out indefinitely, Joe Looney will be asked to step up in a big way. Fortunately, Looney has performed admirably through the preseason thusfar. Although their confidence in him depends greatly on how long their 4x pro-bowl center is going to be away from football. If the Cowboys receive good news about Frederick’s recovery, they may opt to keep Frederick off the injured/reserved list. This would mean Looney would only be asked to fill in for a handful of games. If the Cowboys are forced to designate Frederick to the IR, Looney is now tasked with filling in for potentially the entire season. You may not have noticed Joe Looney before, but you better notice him on Sunday. His play will tell you whether or not Dallas presses the “panic button” at center.

Joe Thomas– Why? Because I said so that’s why. Kidding (kind of). Watch Joe Thomas because he has played very well since becoming a Dallas Cowboy. The free agent acquisition has shown tremendous instinct and always seems to be around the football. Thomas has also displayed a nice pursuit ability, able to navigate traffic and take appropriate tackling angles. If he continues to impress, Thomas will probably cut into Damien Wilson‘s snap count (at least until LVE is ready to take the reigns).

On the very next play…

PICKED. #DALvsSF pic.twitter.com/X62FGTNpKV

— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2018

Here's the #Cowboys forced fumble and recovery by Byron Jones#CowboysNation #CINvsDAL pic.twitter.com/J6RWzSMWjx

— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) August 19, 2018

Dominick Sanders– While not a high level name such as Earl Thomas, George Iloka or literally anyone else, Sanders could be interesting. The 4 year, all time interception leader at the university of Georgia fell out of the draft due to injury. That being said, Sanders is worth the second chance. The young safety displayed his ability to show up in big games during the 2018 college football playoffs. Although there is a chance he could be inconsequential, the Cowboys are on a hot streak of evaluating defensive backs and deserve the benefit of the doubt. At the very least, his NFL debut should be worth a watch.