The Dallas Cowboys may not have looked like world-beaters in their first action of the 2026 preseason, but they did enough to take down the reigning Super Bowl champs in their own house.
Saturday night's 17-7 win was the team's first preseason-opening victory in nearly a decade, and their performance should, mostly, give Cowboys Nation a firm ray of hope as they cruise toward the regular season.
Offensively, the Dallas passing attack looked ready to pick up where it left off last season, even with starting quarterback Dak Prescott being held out of the exhibition. Sam Howell got the start and went 8-of-12 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Joe Milton came in after halftime and had a 12-of-15 night for 107 plus a touchdown of his own. The pair also added 25 rushing yards, perhaps hinting at more regular usage of QB mobility within the gameplan, even when Prescott is behind the wheel.
As expected for a preseason contest, the ball got spread around among the team's many pass-catchers, with 12 Cowboys receiving at least one target. Tight end Michael Trigg and UDFA wideout Camden Brown had the most notable showings, with Brown reeling in all three of his looks, two of them for highlight-reel scores.
CAMDEN BROWN WITH A CRAZY ONE-HANDED TD GRAB 😱
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2026
DALvsSEA on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/sj2vglr6py
Cowboys coaches also had plenty of evaluating to do with their running backs. Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah, Malik Davis, and Israel Abanikanda each took at least four carries. Davis looked perhaps the most impressive of the bunch with a 5.6-yards-per-carry average, though his touches late in the game may have come against the weakest of the Seahawks' defenders.
The biggest question of the night was, of course, the Dallas defense. New coordinator Christian Parker's unit got off to a shaky start, allowing Seattle to take their opening drive 80 yards on 13 plays for an early touchdown, giving Cowboys fans that sickening here-we-go-again feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
But then the defense stiffened noticeably. Led by linebacker Curtis Robinson's eight tackles, Dallas didn't allow a play of longer than 20 yards the rest of the night. They held Seattle to just 156 net yards overall and contained the Seahawks' air game to only two yards per pass play.
Successfully keeping opponents from scoring on three of four red-zone trips will hold up against just about any team in the league once the games actually count.
#Cowboys Defense GOAL LINE STAND After Muffed Punt! #attackoncowboys#dallascowboyspic.twitter.com/4gtK2oTEIA
— Attack! on Cowboys ✭ (@AttackOnCowboys) August 16, 2026
Coaches will want to see more than three sacks per game, but five QB hits and five tackles for loss certainly add up to a strong debut performance from this totally revamped unit.
Penalties will be a teaching point this week, as the Cowboys racked up 13 calls and gave up over 100 yards of field position. And though they lost just one fumble, putting the ball on the ground three times is too much.
Also of concern should be the special teams coverage squads. The Cowboys gave up 70 yards on two punt returns and 74 yards on four kick returns, helping the Seattle offense to an average starting field position past their own 40. That will kill the Cowboys, even with an improved defense, once the opponents are playing their starting offenses.
But for now, Cowboys Nation can continue to feel good about the progress their crew is making in training camp. Their next test will come Saturday when they travel to Arizona.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Instant Analysis: Cowboys' revamped defense limits yards, points in preseason-opening win