After signing edge rusher and future Hall of Famer Von Miller, the Dallas Cowboys are in the mood for a victory lap, and that starts with the newest Cowboy, who spoke of his vision of a holiday in Dallas when he rides in a parade float with the Super Bowl trophy.
First, though, Dallas got in some fighting with the New Orleans Saints in a joint practice that turned into several melees and the almost caused the workout to end early.
For Dallas to have any chance to contend for a Super Bowl, they are going to need to be better on special teams, and they are going to spend a lot of time working to shore that up. And owner Jerry Jones hasn’t been in the news for several days, so he piped up about Miller.
As the Cowboys angle toward preseason Game 2 at Arizona, here is how they are getting there.
‘It’s the Dallas Cowboys’
Miller has arrived in Dallas and he couldn’t be more excited. At his introductory press conference, he gushed about joining his hometown team, which was the rooting interest in his family growing up.
“The Cowboys have been interwoven with my career playing football and never thought that I had an opportunity,” Miller said. “I lobbied a long time, but for that really to come true, it’s a dream within a dream for sure.”
So what would it mean to win a Super Bowl with Dallas?
“I think that question, it answers itself: It’s the Dallas Cowboys,” Miller said. “I won the Super Bowl in Denver, and we had a million people out there. We win a Super Bowl with the Rams, it wasn’t as much. The parade, we were stopping at red lights and stuff. We still won the Super Bowl and it’s still exciting and still dope, but it’s just a different feel with those two organizations. I was with the Buffalo Bills and if we ended up winning the Super Bowl, it would be a holiday in Orchard Park. It’d be a holiday in Buffalo. There’d be statues for everybody.
“That’s just the type of organization that they have, the type of fans that they have. Dallas Cowboys fans are in that same type of stream. They’re not the same. Bills Mafia, Cowboys Nation is totally different things, but the fans here are diehard fans. And if we’re able to do that, if we’re able to have a successful season and win the Super Bowl, it’d be a holiday in Dallas as well.
“People love the Dallas Cowboys. They either love them or hate them, but at the end of the day, they all root for the Dallas Cowboys. And for us to be able to win a Super Bowl, it’d be crazy in Dallas.”
Miller’s one-year deal is worth $5.5 million, with bonuses that could move it up to $7.5 million.
Cowboys, Saints mix it up with fights galore
The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints had a joint practice Tuesday, Aug. 18, and it didn’t go well. There were multiple fights, and at one point, Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer and Saints coach Kellen Moore discussed ending the practice early. From there, matters settled down.
”We kind of had agreed that if a couple of other things happened, we would cancel it, but they worked through it,” Schottenheimer said. “Again, they settled into it, but again, there’s a discipline element to playing this football game and unfortunately we didn’t handle that very well today.”
Per reports, the highlight came when Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner — son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner — got into a fight with Cowboys cornerback Caelen Carson (who many Cowboys fans would probably go after following his penalty-filled exhibition opener). After Carson grabbed and yanked his facemask, Rechsteiner responded by picking up Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson and body-slamming him to the turf.
Dallas Cowboys coach Schottenheimer bemoans special teams
The low spot of Dallas’ preseason opening 17-7 victory against defending champion Seattle was unquestionably its special teams, which gave up several long returns and also muffed a punt on its own 2-yard line. The latter problem was “fixed” by cutting the muffer, Traeshon Holden.
As for the rest of that mess, Schottenheimer addressed it.
“Our mantra is get back to basics,” Schottenheimer said. “Got to pay more attention to detail. Very, very disappointed in how we lost contain. Very disappointed in how we gave up kick side leverage. And the ball’s supposed to be kept on your right shoulder? Keep it on your right shoulder. The ball’s supposed to be on your left shoulder? Keep it on your left shoulder.”
“And then we did a terrible job of communicating non-verbally on the coverage teams. ‘Hey, I’m the ball player. I’m the outside player. I’m the capper.’ Didn’t do a good enough job of that. So we had a long special teams meeting today. It’s going to be a big part of our emphasis because it wasn’t good enough.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired up about adding Von Miller
Jones sounded as enthusiastic as everyone else about adding edge rusher Von Miller to the fold.
He told DallasCowboys.com: “You get someone that’s been there and done that. He trains with our consulting trainer and, boy, he had been telling us, for all this past year, boy, if we could get him — he knew firsthand, because he works with him all the time, and knew that he could help us. And, of course, that trainer is working with all of our guys.
“We feel real good, but the main thing is, Michael Irvin said it. I was just sitting with him during practice, and he said, ‘He’s always wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy, to play for the Cowboys.’
“And then Irvin said, ‘That means a lot.’ It does mean a lot. He’s a veteran that can really bring a great aspect to the team, from the team concept. And he really wants to be here. We want him here. And we believe he can come in here and really give us some additional pressure on the other quarterback.”
Dallas Cowboys schedule 2026
Here is the full Dallas Cowboys 2026 schedule, with television.
PRESEASON
Week 1 Sat, Aug 15 Final score: Dallas 17, Seattle Seahawks 7
Week 2 Sat, Aug 22 at Arizona Cardinals 11 a.m. MT/noon CT
Week 3 Sat, Aug 29 vs. New Orleans Saints 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT
REGULAR SEASON
Week 1 Sun, Sept. 13 at New York Giants 6:20 p.m. MT/7:20 p.m. CT, NBC
Week 2 Sun, Sept. 20 vs. Washington Commanders 2:25 p.m. MT/3:25 p.m. CT, FOX
Week 3 Sun, Sept 27 vs. Baltimore Ravens (at Rio) 2:25 p.m. MT/3:25 p.m. CT, CBS
Week 4 Sun, Oct 4 at Houston Texans 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, FOX
Week 5 Thu, Oct 8 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6:15 p.m. MT/7:15 p.m. CT, Amazon Prime Video
Week 6 Sun, Oct 18 at Green Bay Packers 6:20 p.m. MT/7:20 p.m. CT, NBC
Week 7 Mon, Oct 26 at Philadelphia Eagles 6:15 PM ESPN
Week 8 Sun, Nov 1 vs. Arizona Cardinals 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, FOX
Week 9 Sun, Nov 8 at Indianapolis Colts 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, FOX
Week 10 Sun, Nov 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers 2:25 p.m. MT/3:25 p.m., FOX
Week 11 Sun, Nov 22 vs. Tennessee Titans 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, FOX
Week 12 Thu, Nov 26 vs. Philadelphia Eagles 2:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. CT, FOX
Week 13 Mon, Dec 7 at Seattle Seahawks 6:15 p.m. MT/7:15 p.m. CT ESPN
Week 14 BYE
Week 15 Sun, Dec 20 at Los Angeles Rams 2:25 p.m. MT/3:25 p.m. CT, CBS
Week 16 Sun, Dec 27 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 6:20 p.m. MT/7:20 p.m., NBC
Week 17 Sun, Jan 3 vs. New York Giants 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, FOX
Week 18 Sun, Jan 10 at Washington Commanders TBD
Dallas Cowboys tickets 2026
Seat Geek is the official partner of the Dallas Cowboys, so this is where to get official tickets. The Cowboys are also offering packages for the Week 3 game in Rio de Janeiro against the Ravens, ranging from $1,200 to $5,750. That doesn’t include airfare and the cheap rate doesn’t include hotel.
Other places to buy tickets, which will be more expensive but with a much larger selection than the official tickets, include StubHub, TicketMaster and Vivid Seats. Those sites also offer tickets for away games.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ‘It’s the Dallas Cowboys.’ Elated Von Miller arrives in Dallas
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
