Biggest Takeaways From Dallas Cowboys' Impressive Preseason Win Over Seahawks

Camden Brown's big night and a poor showing from the second-team offensive line are among the biggest takeaways from the Cowboys' preseason opener.

Dallas Cowboys receiver Camden Brown. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Dallas Cowboys kicked off their preseason on Saturday night with a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field, and the Cowboys got their exhibition slate off on the right foot with a 17-7 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Cowboys sat the vast majority of their starters, as expected, but that also provided an opportunity for Dallas to get an extended look at guys further down the depth chart.

And we learned quite a bit with the Cowboys playing their backups on Saturday night. Here are the biggest takeaways from the first contest of the preseason.

Bad sign for Luke Schoonmaker

Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We received a clear indication that Schoonmaker is trailing Brevyn Spann-Ford in the tight end pecking order after the former suited up in the preseason opener and the latter did not.

Making matters worse, Schoonmaker didn't do anything while one of his fellow competitors, rookie Michael Trigg, reeled in four receptions for 30 yards and displayed strong hands.

Schoonmaker has been pegged as a cut candidate throughout the offseason and the fact that he's no better than TE3 right now means there's a realistic possibility he doesn't make the 53.

Cowboys have upset brewing at WR5

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Camden Brown. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's safe to assume the Cowboys would prefer Mingo win the WR5 battle because of what they invested in him in a trade a few years ago, and right now Mingo is moving in the right direction toward that goal.

Mingo brought in two tough grabs in traffic to move the chains on third down in the first half while the Seahawks had their twos in, which amounted to the most important snaps of the night for Dallas' offensive players.

An undrafted rookie, Brown has been a standing out throughout training camp and he carried that into Saturday night with two impressive touchdown catches.

Brown notched his first scoring grab on a contested catch in the second quarter, and he added a ridiculous one-handed grab that went for six in the third quarter.

One-handed TD catch for @CamdenBrown7 🔥

📺: #DALvsSEA on CBS11  
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx89QL pic.twitter.com/RMemCAmuLX

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 16, 2026

Meanwhile, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Traeshon Holden and seventh-round pick Anthony Smith were silent over the first two quarters, and Holden and MVS were blanked entirely.

At the very least, Brown is a legitimate threat to beat out Mingo for the WR5 job, but he might have put himself in the driver's seat with his outstanding performance in his preseason debut.

A quick hook for Caleb Downs

Dallas Cowboys safety Caleb Downs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cowboys' top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft only played about seven snaps in his preseason debut before he was pulled, so he didn't really have a chance to record a stat.

While we obviously wanted to see more, that's actually a good sign for Downs, who has clearly garnered enough trust from the coaching staff that Dallas didn't need to see much.

Caelen Carson the ring leader of penalty issues

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Caelen Carson. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cowboys committed five penalties in the first quarter alone and six in the first half in total, which is the last thing you want to see from a Dallas team that was the most penalized in the NFL during the 2025 campaign.

But half of those penalties came from Carson, who gift-wrapped a touchdown drive for the Seahawks on the opening series with a pass interference and a facemask. Carson added a defensive holding later on for good (or bad) measure.

It wasn't all bad for Carson, who had a handful of tackles and one pass break-up, but he overshadowed the good he did by being a liability with his penalties.

When it was all said and done, the Cowboys had 13 penalties in total. Hopefully that isn't a sign of things to come.

Concern for OL depth

Dallas Cowboys tackle Drew Shelton. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cowboys started Nate Thomas, Trevor Keegan, T.J. Bass, Ajani Cornelius and Drew Shelton from left to right tackle and, unfortunately, we didn't like what we saw.

The pass protection left a lot to be desired, and the run-blocking was even worse. After what we witnessed on Saturday night, the depth upfront is a big concern for the Cowboys outside of Bass.

Jaydon Blue operates ahead of Phil Mafah, Malik Davis

Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Blue was the clear lead back for the Cowboys when the twos were in the game in the first half, which signals he's ahead of Mafah and Davis for the RB2 job.

Sadly, offensive line issues left Blue with no room to run and he finished with just 19 yards on eight carries, but he did flash his potential in the passing game with a 13-yard reception on a screen play and he didn't have any ball security issues.

.@jaydonblue_ moves the chains ⛓️

📺: #DALvsSEA on CBS11  
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/XM2vIx89QL pic.twitter.com/xK723rjrqU

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 16, 2026

In the same timeframe, Mafah had just four touches and Davis didn't see a touch. It appears the RB2 job is Blue's to lose.

A great start for Christian Parker's defense

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's obviously difficult to fully gauge Parker's defense with the ones not playing for either side, but it's worth noting that the unit would have pitched a shutout if not for the aforementioned penalties on the opening drive.

Not only did the defense make multiple stops near the goal line, but we didn't see many of the same mistakes that have plagued Dallas' defense in recent years.

That's about all you can ask for in a preseason game, and especially one that was Parker's debut as a play-caller.