Some of us probably had a spit-screen going on Sunday between the Cowboys game and the Eagles-Giants matchup. You may have done that for pure NFC East intrigue, especially with New York currently leading the division. But watching Joe Milton's first start at quarterback for Philadelphia may have been of particular interest, especially to those still questioning Dallas' choice to let him go.
Last August, after over a year of developmental work in their system, the Cowboys made Milton part of their final roster cuts. He was signed to the practice squad and remained there until just a few weeks ago, when the Eagles poached him following Jalen Hurts' season-ending injury.
Milton sat out for three games as Philadelphia's season officially went all the way into the toilet. Having lost six straight, they gave him a chance to play, and even start, against the Giants last Sunday.
The results were quite mixed, and also hard to evaluate in the Eagles' 19-11 loss to New York. Milton went 18-of-34 for 169 yards, with no scores but also no picks. He got sacked seven times a lost a fumble on one of them. He did manage to produce 64 rushing yards, with most of them coming on scrambles over designed runs.
Philly's offense was already in shambles before this week, so it was hard to blame Milton for the lack of cohesion. Some of those seven sacks were on him for pocket-presence issues, but others were just complete protection breakdowns that didn't give him a chance.
In short, Milton flashed some of the athleticism and potential that has kept him on the NFL radar since leaving Tennessee. But his lack of experience and refinement were also on display, which where what led the Cowboys to go with Sam Howell as their QB2 this season.
The Cowboys' decision to cut Joe Milton remains controversial
Granted, Dallas has much bigger issues right now than who's playing backup QB. If someone told you back in August that the Cowboys would be 4-5 and Howell hadn't played a meaningful snap, you probably wouldn't have believed it. But for all sort of reasons, Dallas has been struggling without any QB injury issues.
Still, despite all the bigger fish to fry on the roster and coaching staff, Dallas' handling of its QB pipeline is worth constant attention. Dak Prescott turns 34 next summer and has plenty of mileage and durability concerns.
Many were okay with the idea of Howell being a better QB2 for if Dak Prescott had to unexpectedly miss games. But it was that Milton was left vulnerable on the practice squad and not retained with a roster spot that irked some, especially after some strong preseason play.
Sure, we only gave up a fifth-round pick for him. And considering New England included a seventh in the deal, it wasn't much of a price. The fourth-rounder that Dallas sent to San Francisco for Trey Lance, with no other pick coming back, was a much steeper price.
But because of the failure with Lance, the Milton experiment received heightened scrutiny. And now that he's playing for a division rival, even if it doesn't last long, we're going to be more aware of his post-Cowboys career.
In the grand scheme, it would have been great for Dallas if Milton had gone off and the Eagles had hung a loss on the Giants. But there would have been a bittersweet note in that, knowing we gave up a much-needed future asset at quarterback.
Instead, we're left with the unanswered question. Did the Cowboys make a mistake by letting Joe Milton get away? If he gets more starts in Philly and more time to learn their offense, we may get more evidence on which to judge Dallas' decision.
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