GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dallas Cowboys ran for 175 yards on 34 carries, gained 413 total yards, and did not allow a sack of Joe Milton III in their 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Not one of the four penalties Dallas was flagged for came against the offense.
Six of the linemen who would normally take those snaps did not play.
Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, Terence Steele, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, and T.J. Bass were all among the 29 players Dallas held out in Glendale. Smith has made three straight Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro in 2023.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Nick Leverett is taking command at center, and that Trevor Keegan got banged up in practice this week and played anyway.
“I need to look at the film. But we saw a lot of good snaps, Drew Shelton, Nate Thomas. I thought Nick Leverett is a guy that he’s taking command. He’s a center,” Schottenheimer said. “Trevor Keegan got banged up this week in the practice. And so the fact that he was out there playing, he played through bumps and bruises.”
“These guys know what time it is. These guys know what’s looming, but they’ve got to trust the process,” Schottenheimer continued. “And if they keep stacking great days, they’re going to make us have some really tough decisions.”
The Five Who Started
Drew Shelton started at left tackle and played 55 offensive snaps, 93% of the total, the highest figure on the team. Leverett started at center and played 53. Ajani Cornelius started at right guard and played 53. Keegan started at left guard and played 53. Nate Thomas started at right tackle and played 31.
Sam Gutierrez was next at 30 snaps. Cooper Glaser played 10. Marcellus Johnson, Dylan Wingfield, and Shiyazh Pete each played six.
Milton completed 9 of 13 passes for 179 yards and was not sacked during 31 snaps. Sam Howell was sacked once for 6 yards, at the Arizona 17 on second-and-8 in the third quarter, a play that pushed Dallas from the edge of the red zone back out of it and turned a possession into a 29-yard field goal.
Milton said the line played great and that he does not think it could have been done better.
“It was great. I feel like the O-line played great tonight. I don’t think you can do it no better than that,” Milton said. “Obviously, there are things that we need to clean up on, but for the most part, the majority of the whole game, they did a great job running the ball.”
What The Run Numbers Looked Like
Dallas averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 7.1 yards per offensive play. Fourteen of the team’s 23 first downs came on the ground.
Jaydon Blue carried 15 times for 75 yards. Israel Abanikanda carried eight times for 39. Malik Davis carried five for 29. Phil Mafah carried once for 15 and a touchdown.
Dallas converted 6 of 10 third downs. The offense averaged a drive start at its own 39, while Arizona averaged its own 28.
With only two tight ends dressed, the Cowboys used offensive linemen as eligible receivers four times and ran 10 personnel, with no tight end on the field.
Leverett, Shelton, And What Comes Next
Leverett, 30, entered the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent with Tampa Bay, played four seasons there, and later spent time with both New England and Arizona. Dallas added him to the practice squad on Jan. 5. He signed to a futures deal the next day. He has appeared in 22 games with 11 starts in his NFL career, mainly in 2022 when he started 10 games at left guard for the Buccaneers.
Shelton was a fourth-round pick in 2026, 112th overall out of Penn State.
Dallas cuts to 53 players after Friday’s preseason finale. The Cowboys host the New Orleans Saints at 7 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium, and the game airs on CBS 11 and ESPN.
