ARLINGTON, Texas — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer left AT&T Stadium on Friday night without a backup quarterback, and he said the staff would begin sorting it Saturday morning. Joe Milton III and Sam Howell split the Dallas Cowboys‘ preseason finale, a 27-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the same way they split the first two games. Rosters cut to 53 players at 5 p.m. CT Sunday.
“It’s neck and neck. And, you know, love both those guys. They’re both great competitors,” Schottenheimer said. “What I love about them both is both guys want to win the spot. Both guys want to compete, but both guys are really happy for each other when they do well. That was last week, Sam cheering on Joe. That was Joe cheering on Sam in this game.”
Schottenheimer continued: “That’s the tough part of this weekend because I am really proud of this team and how much we’ve accomplished over the past seven, eight weeks. And, you know, the human element of this is hard. And we’ve got a lot of really good football players, and it’s hard to keep them all. You can’t, unfortunately, keep them all. But we’ll get a little bit of sleep tonight, get in tomorrow, and start making some tough decisions.”
Joe Milton III And Sam Howell In The Finale
Milton drew the first half and went 8-of-15 for 92 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, a 72.1 passer rating. New Orleans did not sack him. He also lost an aborted snap at the Saints’ 26 in the final minute of the first quarter, and Dallas recovered 12 yards behind the spot.
Howell took the second half and went 12-of-18 for 155 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions, a 130.6 rating. He was sacked twice for 10 yards, threw both fourth-quarter touchdown passes, and ran in the tying 2-point conversion.
Over the first two preseason games, Milton had gone 21-of-28 for 286 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Howell had completed 68.2% of his attempts for 159 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Brian Schottenheimer On The Evaluation Process
Asked whether the decision comes down to Howell’s experience against Milton’s upside, Schottenheimer said:
“I mean, we’re looking at everything. I think all the things that you’re identifying are real. And like I said, we chart every pass in training camp. We chart, obviously, the stats from the preseason games, all the decisions that they make in the run game. What you’ve got to remember is part of the deal is how you handle the run game checks and things like that. We’re a volume-based offense, and it really is a true battle, and we’ve got some tough decisions coming up.”
Both Quarterbacks Discuss The Competition
Milton spoke at his locker afterward.
“I feel like I did good. Obviously there are things you need to clean up,” Milton said. “But other than that, I feel like I did pretty good.”
Milton explained: “I feel like I did what I was supposed to do. I feel like I showed up when my name was called. I feel like I did all the right things in the place. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Milton has been in the building longer. Dallas traded a fifth-round pick to New England for him in 2025, and he backed up Dak Prescott for the season. Howell signed a one-year deal in March, his fourth NFL team since Washington drafted him in the fifth round in 2022.
Dallas started Howell in the preseason opener at Seattle and Milton in the finale. Prescott did not play in any of the three games. Dallas Morning News beat writer Calvin Watkins left Howell off his 53-man roster projection this week.
Howell spoke with reporters afterward.
“It’s been great. Joe has been great, man. We’ve pushed each other. We have a great relationship,” Howell said. “At the end of the day, we’re part of the same team. Obviously, we both want to win a competition. At the end of the day, we both want to play at some point. We both want to start in this league. We’re both after the same thing.”
Howell continued: “So it’s been fun to push each other. And I feel like we’ve made each other better. And that’s the main thing. And it’s never anything personal. And Joe’s been great.”
Howell said the decision is not his to make.
“I’m not making any of the decisions. So I did the best I could,” Howell said. “And at the end of the day, no matter what it is, I can sleep at night knowing I did the best I could. And that’s kind of what I live by.”
