The Dallas Cowboys will play their third of five preseason games on Saturday night, taking on the Indianapolis Colts at AT&T Stadium in the first home game of the year. Wins and losses don't matter much this time of year - it's more about players earning playing time and making sure everyone is clicking on all cylinders before the regular season begins.
What are the Cowboys looking to get out of this game? Here are the three most important things to watch for tonight:
1) Jaylon Smith's career debut
Smith will be making his career debut tonight, which is welcome news. The Cowboys picked him in the second round of the 2016 draft, but hasn't played since tearing his ACL and MCL in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2016 while at Notre Dame. Smith was projected to be a top-10 pick before suffering the injury, and there were concerns if he was ever going to be able to play again. Now, we'll get our first look at how Smith will play post-surgery.
How rusty is he? How much of his speed and athleticism has he lost (if any)? Does he play more tentative? Can he be a factor?
Most of those questions will be answered tonight - but don't expect to see him on the field for long. Dallas said they will have him on a "pitch count" against the Colts in order to limit his snaps and not overwork him as he makes his return. Smith is expected to play a significant role in Dallas' linebacker rotation - this game will be our first indication of how much of an impact he can have.
2) How sharp will the starters look?
The Cowboys have kept star players like Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten off the field to this point in the preseason, but everyone is expected to see a large chunk of time in the third preseason game. As such, we will get our first look at this offense and all of their firepower. We'll get to see what improvements they've made in this offseason and what the offense looks like with Darren McFadden running with the starters, which will be the case during the first six games of the season during Elliott's suspension.
3) What are we to make of the quarterbacks?
Prescott is firmly entrenched as the starter, but the rest of the group is a bit muddled behind him. Sure, Kellen Moore was locked into the backup job at the start of the preseason (and he'll probably still be there when the regular season starts), but he was terrible in Dallas' last game against the Rams. So was projected third-stringer Luke McCown.
In fact, undrafted rookie Cooper Rush has been the most impressive Cowboys quarterback through the preseason. He completed 9/11 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Rams, building off a similar performance in the Hall of Fame Game. Rush may very well be playing himself into a roster spot - especially with another monster performance tonight.
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