Cowboys-Falcons preseason takeaways: Joe Milton locks in, Brandon Aubrey is still good, Jaydon Blue is OK

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys finally accomplished head coach Brian Schottenheimer's mission to start fast in their 31-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to wrap up preseason play. 

"I was pleased with the way we played. We played physical I thought throughout most of the night," Schottenheimer said postgame on Friday. "I thought we started really fast. I thought that it was great to see. But again, the biggest thing for us is we had some guys show how much they want to be here and they fought for it. The film will tell us a little more tomorrow."

Their defense started the night on the field first, and they halted the Falcons' opening drive to force a 51-yard missed field goal. Dallas' offense took the field and played in the smashmouth manner Schottenheimer has been preaching about all offseason. They capped a 59-yard scoring drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown on a scramble by backup quarterback Joe Milton, who started all three preseason games, and 43 of the Cowboys' 59 yards came on the ground. 

A smooth nine yard scramble on third-and-9 by Milton allowed the Cowboys offense to move the chains on the opening offensive series. He spoke on Wednesday about looking to use his feet a little more going forward, and he certainly made good on his word. Milton made it look easy on second-and-goal, running in a bootleg for a one-yard rushing touchdown. That marked Dallas' first opening drive touchdown of the preseason. Third-year running back Deuce Vaughn racked up 33 yards rushing on five carries (6.6 yards per carry) on the opening offensive possession.  

Rookie fifth-round running back Jaydon Blue's 13-yard carry set up the Cowboys with a first-and-goal from the two on Dallas' second drive of the night. Following a false start penalty on the offensive line and a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone, Blue rumbled into the end zone for a one-yard rushing touchdown, the first score of his career in his NFL debut Friday night. That gave Dallas an immediate 14-0 advantage. 

In the second half, Milton put the type of touch on display that head coach Brian Schottenheimer had been looking for all preseason. He dropped an absolute dime to wide receiver Jalen Brooks, his go-to deep ball target from practice, for a 29-yard touchdown pass to begin the second half and put the Cowboys up 14, 24-10, with 12:24 left to play in the third quarter. Milton finished with a pristine line of 132 yards passing and a passing touchdown on 10 of 18 passing while also rushing for 33 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Friday night's performance made Milton look like a capable backup quarterback, a major improvement from his first two weeks of the preseason. 

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"I wouldn't say relief because if you say relief, it's basically being complacent. I'm not a complacent person," Milton said postgame. "So I'm just trying to build from this. There's some things that I can clean up from this game, so just try to keep working at those things and the things that I did well just keep trying to get those  after practice and during practice. So just keep chipping away."

Schottenheimer wasn't ready to officially name Milton the backup quarterback over Will Grier, but he did like what he saw Friday night.

"I think we'll get through these next couple days," Schottenheimer said. "But I thought he played really, really well." 

Standouts

Quarterback Joe Milton. He put together his most complete game of the preseason by far on Friday night. That's worth celebrating as he heads to the bench to back up three-time Pro Bowler Dak Prescott. 

"I just try to get better day-by-day," Milton said. "Whenever my name is called, I'll be ready, that's all I know."

* Includes opening drive safety

Kicker Brandon Aubrey. He drained a 64-yard field goal to end the first half to give the Cowboys a 17-10 halftime lead. The roar from the home crowd on Aubrey's made field goal may have been the loudest of the night through the game's first 30 minutes. He's clearly ready for the NFL season opener at the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4. 

"You're not really looking at 70-plus-yard field goals unless the situation pops up like we had at the end of the half today," Aubrey said postgame when asked about his range. "You obviously give that a try. In pregame, I got back to 58, 59 yards and see how it feels."

"It's kind of a weapon. When I say, 'hey Joe, we have basically 10 yards to get into field goal range. And he was like, 'what? And I was like, yeah.' ... It was great to get him that kick in the preseason."   

Edge rusher James Houston. Houston utilized a strong inside move to sack Atlanta quarterback Easton Stick to quell early momentum on the Falcons' opening drive. Despite a crowded defensive line room, it would be worth Dallas' while to find a way to keep Houston in North Texas. 

Defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Smith stuffed a third-and-1 run to force a Falcons punt on Atlanta's second drive of the night. That's the type of play the Cowboys coaching staff has been waiting for him to make. Yes, he was unblocked, but even the easy plays haven't been easy thus far in the 2023 first-round pick's NFL career. 

""I think Mazi played better tonight," Schottenheimer said. ... "He's a guy that flashes at times. He does some really good things. I thought he had a couple really good rushes today from the inside two technique spot and things like that. But again, we've got a very competitive roster. We've got a very competitive d-line group, so that's why we got to go watch this film and take a look at all of it. I'm not being committal really, on anybody. It's not just Mazi. ... We got a couple days to figure this out. But I thought there was some flashes tonight. Him playing in the third preseason game shows that we wanted to see some things. He was very comfortable, which is great."

Cornerback Kemon Hall. The journeyman is jockeying with undrafted rookie Zion Childress to fill in at nickel corner early in the season until Pro Bowler Trevon Diggs and third-round rookie Shavon Revel get healthy. Hall helped end Atlanta's opening drive with a pass breakup on a third down throw from quarterback Easton Stick. That directly led to the Cowboys defense keeping a zero on the board with Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo pushing a 51-yard field goal wide left. 

Running back Deuce Vaughn. No. 42 totaled 42 yards rushing on 10 carries, but 33 of those came on five carries (6.6 yards per carry) on the opening offensive possession for the Cowboys.     

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Running back Jaydon Blue. Blue's first play in the NFL involved him making the tackle on the Dallas Cowboys opening kickoff. It will be helpful for the fifth-round pick to display special teams chops while working his way into the running back rotation in the regular season. Blue also willed himself into the end zone on Dallas' second offensive possession. He took a shotgun handoff from Milton and burst up the middle for a gain of 13 before eventually plunging into the end zone on a handoff to the left for a one-yard score. He finished with 25 yards rushing and one rushing touchdowns on nine carries. 

"It felt great. I think of it as just football," Blue said postgame. "If I'm prepared, I feel like there won't be any nerves. Just doing things that I do in practice and translating it to the game."

He was ruled out with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter after getting his legs tangled up on a screen pass. However, Blue said the injury isn't a big deal postgame. 

"I'll be fine. The trainers will look more into it, but it just got rolled up a little bit," Blue said. "I'll be OK."

Linebacker Shemar James. James, a fifth-round rookie, has shown an aptitude for dropping into pass coverage throughout the Cowboys' offseason program. His speed helps him cover a lot of space well, which is why he could perhaps see some time in clear cut passing downs in the regular season. James showcased that speed on his interception of Easton Stick: he read Stick's eyes well, and then he immediately closed the air space for the pick. 

"It felt amazing. They kind of ran that same route earlier in the game," James said postgame. ... "When I saw them run that little pivot route coming from the tight end, I was like 'I got to make this play.' That's when the interception happened. I was just ecstastic. ... He [Stick] hit me in my chest like I was the receiver. It was one of the easiest interceptions I've had in my life." 

Running back Phil Mafah. The seventh-round rookie put arguably the angriest run of the night for either team with his 15-yard rumble down to the two with 9:24 left to play. Just a couple plays later, Mafah plunged into the end zone for a one-yard score on a shotgun handoff. He's the type of bruising runner who could pair well with Blue down the road. Mafah finished with 16 yards rushing and a touchdown on those two carries.