The Dallas Cowboys stayed on track to win a preseason championship with a 34-13 drubbing of Arizona in a game where most starters enjoyed the game from the sidelines.
Joe Milton III appeared to take the lead in the battle for QB2, former New Mexico State Aggie Shiyazh Pete got a standing ovation from fellow Navajos and the Cowboys defense, or at least the backups on the defense, had another solid game.
With one week left in the preseason, Dallas seems to be having a productive August.
Shiyazh Pete gets warm reception
One of the last names on Dallas’ roster got the most love from the crowd at State Farm Stadium, as a large continent of the Navajo Nation gave Shiyazh Pete a standing ovation when he came in late for six snaps at guard.
Pete began his college career as a walk-on at New Mexico State, where he played four years before finishing last season at Kentucky. The undrafted free agent is listed as a third-team left guard.
“The people who showed up to support me, celebrate my name and wear my jersey, I lost count of how many Navajo Nation flags I saw,” Pete told the Dallas Morning News. “I saw a Salish Nation flag as well, which was awesome.”
Pete has Salish heritage through his father, though he is mostly Navajo.
Before the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took pictures on the field and spoke with Buu Van Nygren, the president of Navajo Nation.
Stock up: Joe Milton III
After looking a little better than Sam Howell in the preseason opener against Seattle, quarterback Joe Milton III got the start against Arizona and did a lot with it. He was 9-of-13 passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns against no interceptions while leading Dallas to scores on three straight possessions after the opening drive stalled on the Arizona 12.
Howell was also decent, going 7-of-10 for 65 yards but he did have an interception.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said the battle for QB2 will continue on to next week.
“This is long from over,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re going back to Frisco, thankfully, get a chance to be home and put some more training camp days in. You’ve got to give Joe his credit, he’s played really well the past two games, but we have a lot of confidence in Sam as well.”
“This game is about to being able to control the RPMs of the football and throw it with different speeds and touches. (Milton’s) done that at a very high level.”
Stock down: Julius Wood
The safety Julius Wood was the one Cowboys to leave the game with an injury and is now in concussion protocol. Wood spend most of last season on Dallas’ practice squad and was considered a long shot to make the team this year but he had been having a nice camp.
Missing time could damage his slim chances of making the team.
Stock up: Shavon Revel
The second-year cornerback had his first interception of his Dallas Cowboys career when he picked off Gardner Minshew. That was one of just five snaps he had in the game and he made the most of them. Heading into the game he was listed as co-No. 1 with Cobie Durant, though the fact Revel played while Durant sat with the rest of the starters indicates he’s the true No. 1.
Revel, though, helped himself and this comes as part of a productive August for Revel. He missed the firts part of last year with a knee injury Dallas knew about when it drafted him.
“Oh man, it feels great,” Revel told DallasCowboys.com after the win over the Cardinals. “I mean, I feel like I’m really getting back to myself and getting more confident with my knee, and in the game; and learning the situations, the ball and stuff like that. So, yeah, man, it felt exciting, man, but still, down the road, there’s more work to go do.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Dallas Cowboys stock report. Who’s trending up after preseason win
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
