ARLINGTON — The work week, leading up to Saturday’s 31-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, began with an admission about a mystery. In the words of Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, there was a reason quarterback Joe Milton played more than Will Grier in the first preseason game against the Rams.
“It’s not a negative against Will Grier that he’s not getting the reps,” Schottenheimer said about the first preseason game and training camp as a whole. “I’ve been around Will Grier for a couple years now. We know who Will Grier is. We are not surprised when he goes in and does that. It’s figuring out more of Joe Milton, it’s the unknown more than the competition.”
Schottenheimer figured the more Milton played, the more answers they’d have on him and their backup quarterback situation.
Instead, it’s been the opposite. Milton is now 26 for 47 this preseason with 265 yards passing, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also took a safety on the opening drive of Saturday’s game. Milton gave himself a D grade for last week’s performance. This week he said he would give himself the same. If not for the interception, that would’ve risen to a C-plus in his mind.
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“I feel like I just need to get better day by day. Not just getting 1% better, but taking that up to 2%. Just try to get better and challenge my teammates around me to keep pushing me and keeping pushing myself, too.”
For the Cowboys, the Milton mystery has been a microcosm of a larger mystery.
The Cowboys entered this offseason with plenty of questions. No team is immune from them initially, but over time, answers usually emerge. Instead, those initial questions have only added layers, compounded by what we’ve seen during the first two preseason games.
Milton and the backup quarterback situation is one question that lacks an answer. Others abound.
Take their perceived weaknesses, for example. The Cowboys, once again, had questions entering the offseason in the running game: both in performing it themselves, and stopping it.
Collectively, the Cowboys have shown spurts of good run defense through the first two weeks. They allowed 3.8 yards per carry against the Ravens overall. They also haven’t done enough, especially on the interior, to inspire hope that they could handle the likes of Saquon Barkley and the Eagles in Week 1. It’s sparked external conversation about whether the Cowboys could add to the interior defensive line when the roster is cut to 53.
The Cowboys also struggled to run the ball Saturday. Miles Sanders, their leading rusher, finished with 7 carries for 15 yards. As a team they averaged 2.5 yards per carry.
Their secondary has also gotten more curious as the offseason has progressed. Currently, the Cowboys are seemingly deciding between undrafted rookie Zion Childress and former undrafted corner Kemon Hall, who had an interception on Saturday, at nickel corner. That is, if they don’t use DaRon Bland in the slot. The Cowboys call Bland a “weapon” for them, adding that they plan to use him in multiple ways. If he plays inside, however, that means that the Cowboys would likely have either Andrew Booth or Troy Pride Jr. starting on the outside.
See photos of Dallas Cowboys preseason game against Baltimore Ravens
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Which way will the Cowboys go before Week 1? Schottenheimer has said multiple times this week that they don’t have to make any decisions yet, at any position.
“I just told the guys get ready, because a couple of practices this week are going to be really physical,” Schottenheimer said after the loss, “and we have to. It’s like all these position battles: we don’t have to decide anything now.”
Eventually, the Cowboys will have to decide on a backup quarterback.
Eventually, they’ll have to trim their roster to 53 players, which should include some tough decisions on the back end of the receiver position.
Eventually, we’ll see in a game how well quarterback Dak Prescott has progressed from his latest season-ending injury. He and many other starters have yet to play this preseason.
Eventually, the Cowboys will provide an answer to perhaps the biggest question of all: How will Schottenheimer the head coach do? He’s cited multiple times the luxury of being vanilla during the preseason; the ability to keep his cards close to his chest until the moment when he has to finally show them.
None of those questions have been answered yet. And with one preseason game left to go, those answers feel more mysterious than ever.
“There’s too many good football players, too many good coaches for us to perform the way that we did tonight,” Schottenheimer said.
“We’re not going to say that that’s just a preseason game. We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, we’re going to be fine.’ No, we’re going to look at it.”
More Cowboys-Ravens coverage
— Five takeaways from Cowboys-Ravens: Milton’s struggles continue, battle for nickel corner
— Joe Milton didn’t help his case to be Cowboys backup QB in preseason loss vs. Baltimore
— Dallas’ preseason duds highlight dramatic gap still between Cowboys and Eagles
— Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo to undergo MRI exam for possible PCL injury
Happy homecomings for QB Cooper Rush, rookie K Tyler Loop in Ravens’ win over Cowboys
Rush, the former Cowboys backup QB, and Loop, a former Lovejoy standout, played big parts in Baltimore’s preseason win.
Pick-6 leads Browns to win over Eagles in preseason game with Shedeur Sanders sidelined
In a game missing most regular starters on both sides, the Eagles got a better look at their draft picks fighting for playing time.
Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo to undergo MRI exam for possible PCL injury
Mingo was injured trying to make a leaping catch in the end zone.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.