<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker (right) hugs New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore following their preseason game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, August 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 Bill Parcells\u2019 record is safe, just in case you didn\u2019t think he owned any from his time with the Cowboys. The 2006 team remained the last Cowboys team to traverse the preseason with an unbeaten record (3-0-1) when the current edition of the franchise lost to New Orleans 27-24 Friday\u00a0night at AT&T Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before we decipher the meaning of anything from this preseason, let me say that losing to the Saints is\u00a0not, of itself, embarrassing. Yes, Kellen Moore\u2019s team was 2-10 at the end of November but managed to\u00a0hit the 2025 finish line with a 6-11 record. The Saints are something of a weirdly trendy pick in the lowly\u00a0NFC South, although when I told beat writer Calvin Watkins<\/a> I was picking the Saints to win their division\u00a0this year, he looked at me as if I\u2019d just announced I would not be eating anything from the halftime\u00a0press box spread.<\/p>\n But with Spencer Rattler playing the first half as the Saints\u2019 backup quarterback to Tyler\u00a0Shough and\u00a0TCU-ex Kendre Miller darting through holes in the Dallas defense (I think I am credentialed to write\u00a0about Miller but not entirely sure of TCU\u2019s policy there), the Cowboys indeed backtracked from their\u00a0first two preseason games. In those affairs, Christian Parker was properly anointed as the greatest\u00a0defensive coordinator hire of the century as his backups held Seattle\u2019s backups to seven points and\u00a0Arizona\u2019s backups to 13.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On this particular night, with barely five minutes gone in the third quarter, the Saints had a 24-9 lead\u00a0and sizable advantages in all relevant categories \u2014 first downs (18-9), total yards (254-145), rushing\u00a0yards (147-64) \u2014 along with three rushing touchdowns for New Orleans while the Cowboys had zero red\u00a0zone penetrations. Their only points had come on lengthy Brandon Aubrey field goals.<\/p>\n Related: Five takeaways from Cowboys-Saints: Will Joe Milton or Sam Howell be backup QB?<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI got after them pretty good at halftime, wasn\u2019t our standard in the first half,\u2019\u2019 head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. \u201cWe were giving up 6.8 yards per rush and we had three penalties on offense.\u00a0Basically told them, \u2018third preseason game, my ass\u2019 and said it a little more colorfully than that. But the\u00a0defense, you know, really stepped up in the second half. The pass rush was good, the coverage was\u00a0good and we kind of fed on that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The Cowboys turned a 24-9 deficit into a 24-24 tie with Sam Howell throwing touchdowns<\/a> to Jordan\u00a0Hudson, who is more likely to return to SMU than to make the Cowboys\u2019 53-man roster, and to tight end\u00a0Mitch Van Vooren, who wasn\u2019t on the roster a week ago and was signed basically to provide reps in\u00a0place of injured players<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Saints pushed across another long field goal by former Raiders kicker Daniel\u00a0Carlson, and that was\u00a0the difference. No one will lament the end of the preseason. While the reduction to three games feels\u00a0like progress, the result is that almost no starters \u2014 certainly not those with experience \u2014 touch the\u00a0field for any of the 32 teams.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I asked\u00a0Schottenheimer what he thinks he can make of the praise for Parker and the defense\u00a0the last two weeks alongside the poor play of the defense in the third and final game.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope it means we have some pretty cool depth pieces,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s part of it. You know, it\u2019s a violent game, and there\u2019s going to be injuries. Guys have to step up. But I think it was good for CP to\u00a0have to step up and make some corrections and adjustments. Like, let\u2019s do that now and not wait till we\u2019re in the Meadowlands Sunday night and the [stuff] hits the fan, and all of a sudden you\u2019re having to solve problems.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n What will those problems be? Will the new look Giants under coach John Harbaugh sport an entirely\u00a0different look from the Brian Daboll teams the Cowboys mostly pushed around in recent years? Here\u2019s\u00a0something to watch. In the Giants\u2019 23-6 win over the rival Jets Friday night, Odell Beckham Jr. grabbed\u00a0three passes for 53 yards. The man who made the famous one-handed grab against the Cowboys\u2019 Brandon Carr in what feels like a lifetime ago (2014) is back. That may not be as big a problem for Dallas\u00a0as Malik Nabers being back from injury, but just something to watch for in two weeks.<\/p>\n On the other hand, remember when the Cowboys\u2019 first-round trade helped the Eagles secure wide\u00a0receiver Makai Lemon as the replacement for A.J. Brown in April? Lemon made his Eagles debut Friday \u2014 five targets, three catches, 3 yards, one tipped pass to the\u00a0Bengals for an interception.<\/p>\n You never know exactly what might happen in the preseason that will serve to foreshadow good or bad\u00a0news for your team or your rival\u2019s.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In the Cowboys\u2019 case, they lost linebacker\u00a0Marist Liufau to a fractured wrist Friday night but, for the\u00a0most part, they will take a healthy squad to New York in two weeks. The guessing games end at that\u00a0time. The thrill ride of professional sports\u2019 shortest season more than makes up for a preseason in which\u00a0the major players hide in plain sight and results are best examined with one\u2019s tongue planted firmly in\u00a0the cheek.<\/p>\n More from Cowboys-Saints<\/p>\n \u2014 Five takeaways from Cowboys-Saints: Will Joe Milton or Sam Howell be backup\u00a0QB?<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 What to make of Christian Parker’s defense with Cowboys’ preseason in the books<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Why the Cowboys can’t quite close the door on a Tyler Smith change to left tackle<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u2014 Brian Schottenheimer gives update on Cowboys’ Marist Liufau after injury vs. Saints<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cowboys’ Jordan Hudson is ‘focused on making this team.’ But if he doesn’t, he’s got options<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n