The Dallas Cowboys ended preseason with a bang Saturday against the Raiders.
Dak Prescott called the shots on offense in a surprise shake-up from Mike McCarthy and Dallas routed the Raiders 31-17. Preseason finale or otherwise, scoring 31 points in your debut as a play-caller is quite the feat for Prescott.
All in all it was a successful night for the Cowboys, who got through the night unscathed in terms of major injuries and saw continued growth from players on the roster bubble. In turn, though, that means McCarthy and company will have tough decisions to make before Tuesday's roster cutdown deadline.
Let's get into four things we learned from Saturday's preseason finale.
4. Will Grier belongs on an NFL roster
Do the Cowboys have the deepest QB room in the NFL after they acquired Trey Lance from the 49ers? You'd be hard-pressed to name a team with more talent. As a result of the trade, though, Grier was essentially fired as Dallas' third-string quarterback.
Assuming the Cowboys don't find a trade partner for Grier -- fans on social media jokingly pushed hard for that throughout the game -- the former West Virginia standout will be released as part of Dallas' roster crunch to get to 53 players.
That said, Grier proved Saturday he belongs on an NFL roster. He finished 29-of-35 (83%) for 302 yards and four total touchdowns. He added 53 yards on the ground and had a 100% completion rate in the red zone.
Say what you will about Grier facing the Raiders' backups, but that's a tremendous performance regardless of circumstance. It's hard to imagine the former Mountaineer hasn't earned a shot with another team after Saturday night.
3. Juanyeh Thomas will make the 53-man roster
The ever-reliable Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reported pregame that Thomas is expected to be on the 53-man roster. An undrafted free agent in 2022, Thomas broke down the pregame huddle Saturday and got his teammates hyped for kickoff.
The coaching staff had to love that, but Thomas likely made more leeway with his on-field performance. He continued making big plays for the defense and Dan Quinn continues to deploy him as a hybrid safety/linebacker.
Thomas only finished with two tackles, but he contributed a pass breakup as well. That aligns with what we've seen from Thomas since the start of camp and in both preseason games before Saturday's finale.
The Cowboys are deep at safety, but Thomas has shown too much promise all offseason to be exposed to the waiver wire. It's unclear what his role will be in the regular season, but he's earned his way onto the final roster.
2. Hunter Luepke is legit
Cowboys have waited patiently for the Lupeke breakout and it happened just in the nick of time. Luepke was an afterthought in the first two weeks of preseason, but he burst onto the scene with 58 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches as the lead back.
At 6-foot-1 and 234 pounds, Luepke profiles as a mauler between the tackles, but he showed versatility in his game. He not only popped as a receiver with his soft hands, but created yards after the catch. He even made three defenders miss on a catch-and-run before his touchdown.
Luepke is simply the perfect FB/RB hybrid for a Mike McCarthy offense. What that means for the North Dakota State product's roster chances is open for interpretation, but the Cowboys would regret outright releasing him.
At the very least, Luepke belongs on the practice squad for backfield insurance. He was impressive in pass-protection and showed a little bit of everything in his first extended run as the lead dog in the backfield this preseason.
1. Brandon Aubrey earned the kicker job ... for now
The Cowboys' kicker dilemma is far from resolved, but Aubrey looked the part on Saturday after a strong finish to training camp. He missed a 59-yard field goal early in the game, but converted from the same distance in the fourth quarter and overcame a high snap to boot.
It's doubtful Aubrey would have been cut if he missed twice from 59 yards, but the make all but cemented his spot on the 53-man roster.
Even on the miss, Aubrey had plenty of distance, which indicates he has more than enough leg strength to make it as an NFL kicker.
How he handles the pressure of the regular season remains to be seen and will ultimately determine his success -- or lack thereof -- with the Cowboys, but fans should feel better about the kicker situation after Saturday.
It's been Aubrey's job to lose for weeks now and he's still hanging around. That says something, does it not?