After three weeks of training camp in the California sun, the Dallas Cowboys returned to the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium on Saturday evening for their first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Though there are several positives to hold onto from the 28-23 loss, there are arguably just as many (if not more) negatives for Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn to address in the film room. Ultimately, though, it's the first preseason game and there's still a month remaining until the regular season.
Plenty of time to get things ironed out. In the meantime, let's take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Dallas' hard-fought loss.
4. Jake Ferguson is ready to be TE1
Have we underestimated how much usage Ferguson will get in the offense? It's impossible to say after one preseason game, but Dak Prescott had to like what he saw from the second-year tight end against the Jaguars.
Ferguson was a big bright spot early on in an otherwise stagnant Cowboys offense. He caught three passes for 38 yards in the first quarter, including a impressive 26-yarder up the seam to give the offense needed breathing room.
Buried behind starter Dalton Schultz, Ferguson caught 19 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.
In other words, there's loads of untapped potential in the Wisconsin product, and though Dallas selected Luke Schoonmaker in the second year this year, Ferguson further proved Saturday amid a strong training camp that he's the clearcut first-string tight end.
3. Jalen Tolbert is here to stay
Cowboys fans are well aware of Tolbert's impressive showing in Oxnard. To really be convinced he means business in year two after he essentially redshirted as a rookie, though, they needed to see him translate it to a game setting.
After a quiet first quarter, Tolbert came alive before halftime. He hauled in the Cowboys first touchdown of the game on an impressive route where he lost his defender with a stutter break on a slant route in the middle of the field.
The score came minutes moments after Tolbert made a long acrobatic catch near the sideline that was called back by a weak OPI call.
Remember way back in June when the battle for WR4 was heating up? Through three weeks of camp and one preseason game, Tolbert has played Simi Fehoko out of the picture.
2. Offensive line depth is a big problem
How neutered was the Cowboys offense in this one? 2023 fifth-round pick Asim Richards drew the start at left tackle. The Jaguars rolled out their first-team defense for the first few drives and Richards, along with most of the offensive line, struggled to protect Cooper Rush.
Offensive line depth admittedly is an issue for most teams, but that doesn't make it any less worrisome. The group has been shaky throughout training camp and Saturday did little (if anything) to quell fans' concerns.
It's impossible to analyze every offensive linemen's performance during a live game, but the interior appeared especially out of sync. For what it's worth, Brock Hoffman started at center, Josh Ball started at right guard and Matt Farniok got the nod at left guard.
The starting five won't feature any of those players come the regular season assuming Zack Martin's holdout ends before then, but the backup options didn't inspire much confidence against the Jags' first-team defense and that aligns with what's transpired in Oxnard.
1. Damone Clark is primed for a Year 2 leap
Is a second-year breakout coming for Damone Clark? That would be highly reactionary after one preseason game, but Cowboys Twitter (rightly) drooled over Clark's performance against the Jaguars.
The 2022 fifth-round pick looked the part of a veteran in the opening minutes.
At one point in the first quarter, Clark's four solo tackles matched the rest of the defense combined. Between flying sideline-to-sideline swarming ball-carriers and blowing up running plays in the backfield, Clark put on a masterclass of ball pursuit, speed and athleticism.
Again, it's too early to say if the LSU product has taken the next step, but fans can't help but be excited by what they saw Saturday.
At the very least, Clark is showing that he's more confident further removed from spinal fusion surgery and his comfortability in Dan Quinn's defense is apparent. He shouldn't be outright rested until the regular season, but this game proved Clark isn't in need of extensive preseason reps.