Five takeaways from Dallas Cowboys win: Don’t forget Deuce Vaughn on cutdown day
The preseason is in the books, as the Dallas Cowboys finished their exhibition slate with a 31-13 win Friday over the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium.
Compared to the first two preseason contests, the offense got out to a much better start, generating 14 points in the first quarter and running the ball with efficiency from the start.
With roster cutdown time looming Tuesday afternoon, it is now decision time for the Cowboys. Here are five takeaways from the final on-field showing before those choices are made:
Don’t forget about Deuce
In a game that could be interpreted as his last-ditch effort to make the roster, running back Deuce Vaughn may have a better shot at making the final 53-man cut than some think. For a player who has picked up a lot of carries with the second-team unit in training camp, Vaughn does have a shot to be on the roster when it’s all said and done.
On Friday night, Vaughn carried the ball 10 times for 42 yards while displaying some burst around the edge. It’s not a certainty by any means, as it will likely come down to the injury to rookie Jaydon Blue in Friday’s game or a decision to carry four running backs (not counting Hunter Luepke), but Vaughn will be part of the nitty-gritty conversation on cutdown day for one of the final spots.
“It felt good,” Vaughn said. “Anytime you have an opportunity to come play with that star on your helmet, you never take it for granted. I was excited to get out here and run for the last time this preseason.”
Mazi Smith put up his best effort
It wasn’t pretty, but defensive tackle Mazi Smith put up a decent effort in his final preseason showing. For a former first-round pick who has massively underwhelmed since arriving in 2023, this may have been Smith’s final chance to show something before a tough decision is made Tuesday.
The defensive tackle room — specifically at the 1-technique position — is thin with talent for the Cowboys, and Smith could benefit from that by sticking around. But if the ample preseason reps were a tryout for him earning the starting job, it’s tough to see how he earned any confidence in that department.
“I think Mazi played better tonight,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “I think Mazi’s the first one who talked a couple weeks ago about the consistency and wanting to be more consistent. He’s a guy that flashes at times. He does some really good things. I thought he had a couple really good rushes today from the inside 2-Technique spot and things like that. But again, we’ve got a very competitive roster.”
Brandon Aubrey is in midseason form
Going into his third season, kicker Brandon Aubrey has firmly established himself as one of the top legs in the NFL. Last preseason, he wowed with a 66-yard field goal in Las Vegas against the Raiders before going on to make 40 field goals last season.
This time around, Aubrey booted a 64-yard field goal from behind the Cowboys star on midfield right down the middle to end the first half. It hit the bottom of the back net behind the goalposts for what could have easily been a kick that would have gone a few yards farther.
Joe Milton finally offered some optimism
After two poor performances to open the preseason, backup quarterback Joe Milton settled in a lot quicker in his final exhibition showing to offer some optimism in the state of the position behind starter Dak Prescott.
Milton completed 10 of 18 passes for 132 yards and one touchdown throw from 29 yards out to Jalen Brooks. Unlike his two previous outings, Milton started hot, leading two touchdown drives in the first quarter. The strong start paired with a mostly consistent first half saw him get handed the ballcap by head coach Brian Schottenheimer with roughly nine minutes left in the third quarter.
“I thought he did a nice job,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “He got off to a good start. He used his legs...That was great to see. He looked a lot more comfortable and settled today.”
His overall performance from the three outings will rightfully worry fans going into the season in the event he needs to step in for Prescott, but Friday’s outing at least offered what things look like when Milton does find a groove.
Tough decisions will be made at cornerback
The health of the cornerback room continues to be a storyline heading into the season. And while Trevon Diggs said pregame that he expects to be back in the early portions of the season, it is still expected that he will begin the year on injured reserve, requiring him to miss at least four games.
A tough decision will have to be made about who to keep. You can reasonably deduce that DaRon Bland and Kaiir Elam are the only locks. Behind them, it gets interesting.
For my money, I see Andrew Booth making the roster after not being asked to suit up Friday night. After that, you have two to three spots for Kemon Hall, Zion Childress, Israel Mukuamu and Troy Pride. Hall and Childress have gotten the majority of reps in the preseason at the slot corner spot, but Mukuamu also factors into that thinking despite getting a large handful of safety snaps in the preseason.
However it shakes out, it will be the toughest decision that the personnel department will have to make on Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM.
