Cowboys Camp — Aug 23: Milton Outplays Howell in Glendale

Joe Milton took the start Sam Howell had a week ago and went 9-of-13 for 176 yards with two touchdowns and a rushing score in a 34 to 13 win at Arizona — a 53-yard touchdown to Jonathan Mingo, a 70-yard throw to Camden Brown — per the Associated Press game story. Howell's half went the other way: 7-of-10 for 65 yards and an interception in the end zone. Milton had been gaining second-team practice reps all week, per Adam Schultz at Roundtable, and after the game Brian Schottenheimer praised his touch — "He's done that at a very high level" — before propping the door back open: "We have a lot of confidence in Sam as well." So the coach says the competition is alive while two straight weeks of film lean one way; the conversation around the team has mostly stopped saying "competition," and that part is running ahead of anything the staff has announced. The standard disclaimer applies to all of it — most starters rested on both sides, and Dak Prescott did not play, per Kurt Daniels at the team's website.

The rest of the Glendale box score kept two summer stories alive. Camden Brown, the undrafted receiver who scored twice against Seattle last week, added 77 yards on two catches, per Daniels — the 70-yarder from Milton the longest gain of his preseason. And the defense that has been taking the ball away from its own offense all camp finally did it to someone else in a game: cornerback Shavon Revel intercepted Gardner Minshew in the first quarter and returned it 22 yards to set up the opening touchdown, per the Associated Press — the first live-game takeaway of this preseason after weeks of practice-field harvests. The unit around him allowed 13 points; rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham, back from a groin issue, made five tackles with one for loss in limited snaps, and running back Phil Mafah, out last week with a chest contusion, returned to score the final touchdown, both per Daniels. The cost column: safety Julius Wood left in the third quarter with a concussion, per the Associated Press.

The week's biggest roster news arrived Monday, when Von Miller signed a one-year deal worth five and a half million dollars, up to seven and a half with incentives, per Carter Bahns at CBS Sports. He arrives as a situational rusher rather than a starter, and Dallas is in no hurry to prove otherwise: Miller did no team work in Oxnard, and Schottenheimer laid out the plan himself — "We're not gonna rush him out there. There's no need to do that. It's more getting him around the fellas, getting him with the defensive staff" — with a practice debut expected once camp resumes at The Star in Frisco on Tuesday, per Patrik Walker at the team's website. Todd Archer at ESPN, via Sami Haider at The Sporting News, put full practice at next week. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker's welcome, per Haider: "Ultimate professional, phenomenal teammate, and obviously he can still get after the quarterback, play at a high level as an all down player." He last played in January, so until he takes a padded rep this is a signing rather than a player — but it is aimed squarely at the pass rush this team spent the offseason rebuilding.

Tuesday's joint practice with New Orleans in Oxnard was the week's messiest day. Fights broke out repeatedly — enough that Schottenheimer and Kellen Moore came close to ending the session early, per the team website's practice report — and edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected for throwing a punch, his second ejection of this camp, per Schultz. Schottenheimer's review: "A little chippy. Not the way we like to do business." Between scuffles, the defense pulled down two interceptions and Quinnen Williams kept winning early downs, per Schultz; the counterweight is that Chris Olave won most of what he contested, including a red-zone touchdown catch over safety Caleb Downs, per the team's report — the first sustained beating this secondary has taken from an opposing receiver all camp. Prescott's day was efficient where it counted: three red-zone touchdowns on six snaps against the Saints' defense, with one interception, per Schultz.

The remaining ledger is short. Running back Jaydon Blue missed consecutive practices with a shoulder and fullback Hunter Luepke left Tuesday's session with an undisclosed issue, per Schultz; and on linebacker Justin Barron, who went in for a cognitive evaluation after the Seattle game, we found no update in the reporting we accessed, so the player who intercepted three passes in the Rams joint practice enters cut week with his status unwritten here.

Back in July we previewed Dallas as the widest gap in football — a top-five offense welded to a dead-last defense that managed 11 takeaways all season — with the whole offseason budget spent on the broken half. We've been checking that preview against camp every week, and this week kept paying into it: the takeaway habit crossed from practice fields into a game, the front office added a veteran pass rusher to the renovation, and the honest counterpoint is one afternoon of Chris Olave showing the secondary still has days it loses.

What to watch next: Miller actually taking his first full practice at The Star this week, and the backup-quarterback call between Milton and Howell when rosters cut to 53 on Sunday, August 30. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._