What the Dallas Cowboys learned in their loss to Pittsburgh

Even though it’s the preseason, the Dallas Cowboys could learn something

Finally, the time is here. The 2021 preseason started with the Dallas Cowboys losing the Hall of Fame Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While many are quick to dismiss the preseason, especially the earlier games, the Cowboys could already learn a thing or three. Here are some of them.

Be careful with your stars

While your star players need to get some reps in before the regular season, you still need to be careful. Injuries are common in sports. The team’s collapse last season is the perfect example of that.

There are already injury concerns among two of the top names on the Cowboys. That being quarterback Dak Prescott with his shoulder ailment and wide receiver Amari Cooper with his nagging ankle. That is despite the team being optimistic for both players come Week 1.

Devastating injuries in the preseason is nothing new for the Dallas Cowboys. Look back at when then quarterback Tony Romo was held out with a back injury in 2016. Luckily Dak stepped in and thrived, but heading into a season without your starting quarterback is not a comfortable place.

One star left the game with an injury this time around, but thankfully it was a Pittsburgh player rather than a Cowboys player. In an attempt to make a leaping grab, star-wideout Chase Claypool landed hard on the ground and was visibly in pain.

Thankfully, Claypool would look fine along the sidelines. Since that play, he remained there, and rightfully so. That is still a play that makes you uncomfortable.

Not many expected starters saw the field for the Cowboys, and that could be a good thing. It’s early to have established players suit up.

Instead of sure names, we saw Keanu Neal, Micah Parsons, and Dalton Schultz take the field. They are all talented players fighting for the starting spots in their respective positions.

The most surprising of the three would be Neal, considering his horrifying and recent injury history. He missed 29 games over the past three seasons, so he needs to be monitored.

Other than that, Dallas started well by allowing other players to play snaps. Of course, the chance of injuries is still there. The difference is losing a backup isn’t as bad as losing a starter.