SEATTLE — Camden Brown caught touchdown passes from both of the Dallas Cowboys‘ backup quarterbacks Saturday night as Dallas opened the preseason with a 17-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
The undrafted rookie caught all 3 of his targets for 62 yards and scored twice. Sam Howell connected with Brown for a 39-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, and Joe Milton III found him from 2 yards out in the third.
Dallas scored the final 17 points after Seattle went 80 yards for a touchdown on its opening possession. The Cowboys outgained the Seahawks 338-156, picked up 21 first downs to Seattle’s 14, and converted 11 of 15 third downs. Dallas held the ball for 32:55 and did not allow a sack.
Camden Brown Scores Both Dallas Cowboys Touchdowns
Drew Lock took Seattle down the field on its first possession. The Seahawks used 13 plays to cover 80 yards, and Montorie Foster Jr. caught a 5-yard touchdown from Lock with 7:42 left in the first quarter.
Dallas’ first points came on its next extended drive. Starting at its own 16, the offense converted three third downs and worked down to the Seattle 10. Brandon Aubrey made a 29-yard field goal after the Cowboys had used 16 plays and 8:43.
Seattle put together a 15-play drive before halftime, but Jason Myers pushed a 45-yard attempt wide right. Howell got the ball back with 2:04 to work with and scrambled for 10 yards on third-and-7 to extend the possession.
Dallas reached the Seattle 39 with 45 seconds remaining. Brown got behind the coverage on the next play, and Howell found him down the right side for a 39-yard touchdown and a 10-7 halftime lead.
Brown was involved early again after Milton took over. His 21-yard reception moved Dallas out of a second-and-15 on the first possession of the third quarter, and the Cowboys kept going from there until they reached the Seattle 2.
Milton threw a fade toward the back left corner of the end zone, and Brown made a diving, one-handed catch for his second touchdown. The drive covered 84 yards in 13 plays and took 7:19.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Dallas had wanted Brown working with the first team during camp and moved him off flanker for the second touchdown.
“The game’s not too big for him,” Schottenheimer said. “He does that every day in practice. We see it all the time. I thought it was a really, really good throw by Sam, tight coverage, but they trust him. And then Joe’s throw on the fade — he gets blasted, and a one-handed catch. But he’s been doing that the whole time.
“What I love about him is he does the little things too,” Schottenheimer continued. “You watch him on special teams and one-on-one drills, things like that. He realizes that that’s how you make this football team. When you’ve got a receiver room that’s filled with George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb, Ryan Flournoy, people like that, that stuff matters. So really good day, but he’s got to keep stacking like he’s been doing.”
The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Brown signed with Dallas after going undrafted in April. His last college season came at Georgia Southern following three years at Auburn. Brown started all 13 games in 2025 and finished with 65 catches for 1,079 yards and 14 touchdowns, becoming the first Georgia Southern receiver to reach 1,000 yards in a season and setting the school record for receiving touchdowns.
Being dependable and available at all times is what has earned Brown trust at every stop, and it is what he sees the NFL asking of him now.
“Just waking up every day, having gratitude towards the game,” Brown said. “Shoot, I came from Auburn. I came from Georgia Southern. I done seen it all. Just to be here at this level, just putting it all together and being the best version of myself every day is the main ultimate goal of just life.
“Sometimes you get knocked down, sometimes you get brought up, and shoot — today showed it all,” Brown added. “Just being undrafted itself, just put a chip on your shoulder. Now that I look at it, I’m glad I got undrafted, because you can be the best version of yourself every single day and you don’t feel complacent a little bit. I feel like it put an edge to me just a little bit more. You know what I’m saying? So I’m very, very highly thankful.”
Communication is the biggest key in football for Brown. He built his connection with Dallas’ quarterbacks the way he had with JC French at Georgia Southern and Peyton Thorne at Auburn, both of whom still text him.
“When the ball in the air, it’s mine,” Brown explained. “That’s always been the mindset from Georgia Southern to Auburn. And just having that mentality, because I feel like just playing football in general is having the right mentality.”
To Milton, Brown is someone who asks questions every day and speaks up when he does not know something.
“I was on the ground hoping, but really not hoping,” Milton said. “I seen him — pretty much watched him run his whole route as I was taking my snap from under center. But it was great, man, just to see a rookie come in, undrafted, just make a catch like that, especially one hand, for sure.”
Howell said Brown gets open, catches what is thrown to him, and puts extra time into the playbook.
“We kind of ran a little double move play,” Howell said. “And me and Cam have built a good connection throughout training camp. And I know in those one-on-one situations, I’m going to give him a chance every time. And he made a great play. I was thankful he made the play for me.
“Anytime I have that opportunity to throw the ball to him one-on-one, especially down the field, I’m going to do it,” Howell continued. “He’s a great player. He works so hard. Great kid. Yeah, sky’s the limit for him.”
Sam Howell, Joe Milton III Continue Backup Quarterback Battle
With Dak Prescott held out, Howell and Milton split the night as they compete for the No. 2 job behind him.
Howell started and played the first half. He went 8-of-12 for 94 yards and the touchdown to Brown, did not turn the ball over, and finished with a 118.1 passer rating. Howell added 15 rushing yards on 2 attempts, including the 10-yard scramble on third-and-7 before halftime.
Jon Machota of The Athletic reported about 90 minutes before kickoff that Howell would start and play the entire first half, with Milton taking the second. Milton had been listed as the No. 2 quarterback on Dallas’ first unofficial depth chart.
Milton completed 12 of 15 passes for 107 yards and hit 6 of his first 8. He finished with a 118.6 passer rating. Neither quarterback threw an interception, and Seattle did not sack either one.
Dallas closed the game with Milton on the field. The Cowboys took possession at their 15 with 6:32 left and never gave the ball back, picking up 5 first downs before Milton took the final kneel-downs.
Schottenheimer said Milton is close to unstoppable on quarterback sneaks and that it did not take long to decide he would keep letting him sneak it.
“It’s hard to speak on quarterbacks when you don’t watch the film,” Schottenheimer explained. “But I thought both guys functioned outstanding. They both were tasked with going out there and playing against heavy pressure. A Mike Macdonald, Aden Durde defense is going to be a heavy pressure team. And they brought a bunch of things against us that, not that we weren’t prepared for, but that maybe we didn’t handle very well. So they were taking some shots.
“But they just hung in there and made the throws when they had to make them,” Schottenheimer detailed. “And they were both very efficient, and that’s what we want. We evaluate quarterbacks by a couple things. One, moving the team, scoring points. And then two, protecting the football. And I thought both guys did that.”
Howell signed with Dallas on March 10 after four seasons that took him through Washington, Seattle, Minnesota, and Philadelphia. He has thrown for 4,139 yards with 22 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in 20 career games. Dallas acquired Milton from the New England Patriots in April 2025 for a fifth-round pick. Milton is in his second season with the Cowboys and has 424 career passing yards.
Howell’s Cowboys debut was fun, and being back on the field with the group was the part that stood out.
“We put that one — I don’t know how many plays it was, 16, 17-play drive — together,” Howell explained. “It just shows you how well we were able to execute. But we did a lot of good things. A lot of guys made a lot of good plays. So it’s something to build on for sure.”
Milton’s takeaway for himself is to keep seeing it, keep progressing, and keep having fun.
“Camp’s a lot different,” Milton explained. “I’m able to — I went through a whole year of game planning with these coaches, so I’m able to game plan the right way now, get an understanding of what they’re thinking. Shoot, I was able to fix a play. And last year, I don’t think I would have been able to do that. So I was able to fix a play today. So it’s great.”
Howell is taking it one day at a time and feels more comfortable in the offense each day.
“I think we showed when we do what we’re supposed to do and everyone knows their job, we show how we can move the football,” Howell said. “No matter what group is in there, no matter where everybody’s at on the depth chart, if we go in there and do what we’re supposed to do, we can move the football. We have a lot of guys on this team that can make plays, and I think that showed tonight. We just got to keep growing, keep building, use this game as momentum to keep getting better.”
Dallas Cowboys Defense Settles In After Opening Drive
Seattle’s opening drive accounted for 80 of its 156 yards. Dallas allowed 76 over the Seahawks’ final seven possessions.
The Seahawks finished with 49 net passing yards. Lock went 9-of-13 for 40 yards and the touchdown. Jalen Milroe was 5-of-8 for 36 yards. Dallas took away 27 yards on 3 sacks. Seattle went 6-of-12 on third down and did not convert either of its fourth-down attempts.
James Houston had a sack in the second quarter. Tyrus Wheat and Reddy Steward split another in the fourth.
A muffed punt by Traeshon Holden gave Seattle the ball at the Dallas 5 with 8:21 remaining. The Seahawks gained 3 yards on first down and another on second, and Tyleik Harden went nowhere on third-and-1. Milroe dropped back on fourth down, and Isaiah Land brought him down at the 15 for a 14-yard sack.
It was the second short field Dallas survived after halftime. Rashad Rochelle returned a punt 52 yards to the Cowboys’ 27 late in the third quarter. Seattle reached the 6 before Lock threw to Velus Jones Jr. on fourth down, and Dallas stopped him 4 yards behind the line.
Curtis Robinson finished with a team-high 8 tackles. Robinson signed with Dallas on April 27 after five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and entered the night with 52 career tackles.
Malachi Lawrence made 3 tackles in his first preseason game after Dallas drafted him 23rd overall in April. Caleb Downs was in the starting secondary, his first game action since the Cowboys took him with the No. 11 pick. Schottenheimer had said Thursday in Oxnard that both first-rounders were likely to play.
Tyrice Knight led Seattle with 10 tackles, all in the first half.
Robinson has worn the green dot before and is used to relaying calls. Preseason substitution patterns force him to communicate differently with different groups from series to series.
“First and foremost, it’s always cool to get a win to start off the season, whether it’s preseason or regular season,” Robinson said. “So we’re all excited about that. But I think the big thing we harped on was the penalties. That’s obviously the biggest thing we got to clean up going forward.
“It was cool to see the offense be able to finish the game out for a minute,” Robinson continued. “That’s usually your dream scenario with the lead, I should say. But defense stepped up a lot, had a lot of third and fourth down stops that were pretty critical in that game. So a lot of good stuff to build off of, for sure.”
Robinson said the group on the field for that series was mostly young players who had been sent out on a sudden change and were already tired.
“In general, a bend-don’t-break mentality is obviously what you’re thinking about when you’re that deep in the red zone,” Robinson explained. “But it just kind of shows the character of the guys that were out on the field at that point in time and the things that we preach as a defense and the coaches have preached to us so far.
“In a lot of situations, a sudden change thing where they’re (inaudible), guys are dead tired,” Robinson added, “and it seems like it’s like, all right, they’re just going to walk in. To go down there and in four snaps pretty much move them backwards, it’s a good sign as far as the young guys having great character, but also just the philosophy of the defense and playing attack football.”
Schottenheimer counted three or four three-and-outs and four-and-outs in a second half he thought was well played. Jonathan Mingo, he said, made a play stopping a punt return in the first half.
“The defense’s job is to keep people out of the end zone,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s what we’re tasked to do. And I’m fine winning games 7-3, 10-7. I don’t care. But I thought they were terrific.
“I thought we were a little sloppy early on, and we gave them some hidden yards with penalties early on,” Schottenheimer continued. “But I thought they really buttoned down, and I thought the pass rush was really good. We let Milroe get out a few times, which he’s very athletic, but overall, I was very, very pleased. Anytime you can get three-and-outs and four-and-outs and the red zone stops, it’s what you want.”
Houston has 14.5 sacks in 4 NFL seasons. Dallas signed him in July 2025 after stops in Detroit and Cleveland.
Houston has been getting to the quarterback in this league for a long time. To Schottenheimer, the trait is a special one.
“He’s mad at me because I accepted the penalty,” Schottenheimer said. “So I said, hey, you get lots of sacks, you’ll be fine. But, yeah, I mean, the guy’s just got a knack. He’s an awesome rusher. And he’s been doing it in this league for a long time. And I really just appreciate the way he works. And it’s a special trait that he has.”
Christian Parker Calls Plays For The First Time
Saturday was Christian Parker‘s first game calling the defense as Dallas’ coordinator.
The defense has built up reps with Parker through OTAs and training camp.
“It was good,” Robinson said. “I mean, we’ve obviously gotten a lot of reps now through OTAs and through training camp, so we all have a pretty good feel as far as how he’s going to go with the flow of game and flow of practice and stuff. So it was cool to see him kind of just continue that when it was live bullets. But it was a good experience overall.”
Robinson said Parker gets on the microphone during a series and tells him to pass specific reminders to the safety, the corner, and the defensive line.
“He’s super urgent with all the communication,” Robinson said. “Like, when I’m on the mic, he’s talking through, like, hey, let the safety know this. Let the corner know that. Tell the D-line such and such if we get such and such.
“For me, it’s a lot of process,” Robinson noted, “but it’s also good, because I can relay the coaching to the guys in those scenarios that you might not necessarily get from every type of coordinator.”
Schottenheimer spent the game listening to Parker on the second channel.
“I thought he was really good,” Schottenheimer said. “And I was over there listening on two. And he is what he is, man. He’s calm, cool, convicted. Again, when we gave him the ball on the muffed punt down there late, he said, ‘They ain’t in.’
“There was zero,” Schottenheimer continued. “We need that. We need the adversity. There’s going to be adversity, and it’s going to happen in this season. And so it was really cool for our guys to respond, but I thought he did a great job.”
Dallas Cowboys Rotate Running Backs Behind Javonte Williams
Malik Davis led Dallas with 39 rushing yards on 7 carries. Israel Abanikanda added 36 yards on 7 attempts. Jaydon Blue had 19 yards on 8 carries and caught both of his targets for 15 yards.
Dallas ran it 36 times and gained 137 yards. Howell accounted for 15 of those yards, and Milton added 10.
Phil Mafah had 9 yards on 4 carries and a 6-yard reception. Dallas announced him out with a chest injury as the fourth quarter began.
Javonte Williams did not dress. The Cowboys brought him back in February on a three-year deal worth $24 million after he ran for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns on 252 carries in 16 games last season. Williams also caught 35 passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Dallas struggled to move Seattle’s front early, and the first-half run numbers reflected it. Schottenheimer said the Cowboys opened the second half with a perimeter play they had held back.
“You’ve got to get what’s blocked,” Schottenheimer said. “And again, I thought all of our guys ran hard. I mean, give it up for Malik Davis. Just the holiday hero. I mean, he just — it wasn’t a holiday. Was it a holiday? I don’t think it was a holiday. But I mean, he’s amazing. Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, whatever the day is, 14th of August. I love that guy.”
Schottenheimer said he would know more about the backfield after watching the film.
“I think I’ll work backwards,” Schottenheimer said. “I thought late in the game Izzy ran really hard, man. It was heavy box, and they knew that we were in four minutes, and I’m really proud of our ability to stay on the field and not have to give them the ball back after we got the big stop after the muffed punt. I thought Izzy ran really, really hard. I thought the receivers blocked really well.
“Malik, he’s just a slasher, man, and his vision and understanding of blocking schemes and all that I think was great,” Schottenheimer detailed. “Phil had some really good runs. And then Jaydon, there wasn’t a whole lot there, but you get him going on screens and things like that, he’s a weapon.”
The Seahawks under Mike Macdonald made it a physical game.
“He’s okay. I talked to him,” Schottenheimer said. “I think we came out okay, little bumps and bruises. Justin Barron, he got rocked a little bit. And then Phil. But I think everybody’s okay. We’ll figure out a little bit more when we wake up in Oxnard tomorrow morning and get them all treated. But I know the masseuses are going to be busy tomorrow. So it’s a physical game, and as you would expect, coming in to play the Seahawks led by Mike Macdonald.”
Michael Trigg Makes His NFL Debut
Michael Trigg played his first NFL game. Dallas signed the Baylor tight end as an undrafted free agent on April 26. Trigg had 50 catches for 694 yards and 6 touchdowns as a senior and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2025. He played at USC in 2021 and at Ole Miss in 2022 and 2023 before transferring.
Trigg went in without nerves. Dallas had practiced two days earlier, and he was still around football.
“It was exciting,” Trigg said. “I mean, I guess I could say my coach and the vets in the room had me ready, prepared, so I was ready to go as soon as we got on the field.”
Trigg said tight ends coach Lunda Wells told him before kickoff to be ready and to put his hands on somebody.
“I feel like you have to, just coming from my situation,” Trigg explained. “Every team passed up on me. So every opportunity I get, I just try to make the best of it.”
Trigg was in awe of the catch and let Brown know when he came off the field.
“I told him the other day, when I see him make plays in practice, it turned me up,” Trigg said. “It made me get a little riled up. So I feel like I need to make a play now, so that I see him make a play. But, no, he’s a great player.”
Penalties Leave Dallas Cowboys With Plenty To Fix
Dallas gave Seattle 34 yards on penalties during the opening touchdown drive, including a pass interference call and a face mask. The Cowboys finished with 13 penalties for 103 yards. The teams combined for 21 penalties and 174 penalty yards.
Dallas converted 11 of 15 third downs. Seattle finished 6-of-12. The Cowboys ran 63 offensive plays and gained 338 yards. Seattle ran 52 and finished with 156.
Dallas scored on 1 of its 2 trips inside the Seattle 20. The Seahawks made four red-zone trips and scored once.
Hand placement is the sort of thing the preseason exists to fix.
“I thought the team effort to get the win against a good opponent was really good,” Schottenheimer said. “Things we obviously need to clean up, the penalties. They threw a lot of penalties, really on both teams. But that’s what the preseason’s for. Work on your hand placement, get better. But overall, I was really, really proud of our guys.”
Schottenheimer had not talked to Holden yet. Holden is competing and wants to win.
“I don’t know,” Schottenheimer said. “I want to talk to him. I know he was disappointed. He knew he made a mistake. Traeshon wants to win. He’s competing. I think any time players step up, you can be affected by that. But Traeshon’s a pro, and he’ll bounce back.”
The Cowboys held out a large portion of the regular lineup. Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, and Jake Ferguson did not play. Seattle sat Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Seahawks running backs Zach Charbonnet, Emanuel Wilson, and 2026 first-round pick Jadarian Price were out with injuries. George Holani led Seattle with 42 yards on 12 carries.
Up Next
The Cowboys return to Oxnard, California, with open practices scheduled through Aug. 18. Dallas plays its second preseason game at the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 22, with kickoff set for 9 p.m. CT.
Dallas returns home to face the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. CT. The regular season begins Sept. 13 at the New York Giants, with kickoff set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
