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Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys delivered one of their most convincing preseason performances Saturday, cruising past the Arizona Cardinals 34-13. The win left coach Brian Schottenheimer impressed, particularly after his team endured another demanding week of training camp practices. Schottenheimer was visibly energized during his postgame address, praising the Cowboys for the way they responded on the field. With the 2026 NFL season approaching, Dallas enters the year carrying significant expectations. The Cowboys possess plenty of talent but remain one of the league’s more unpredictable playoff contenders. However, Schottenheimer appears to have plenty of confidence in the group he has assembled. “If you take our roster from last year and you lay it down next to our roster from this year, there’s no question that the depth and the overall talent is higher,” Schottenheimer said. “This is a good football team. We got a lot of confidence. We just got to make the right decisions as we get to the cut-down day, which we will.” The comments come at an important point in the preseason, with teams preparing to reduce their rosters from 90 players to the regular-season limit of 53. For the Cowboys, improving the defense was one of the biggest priorities entering the offseason. Dallas surrendered 511 points last season, creating an obvious need for upgrades. The organization addressed that weakness by reshaping the bottom portion of its roster through draft selections, veteran additions and defensive system changes under coordinator Christian Parker. The result, at least during training camp and the preseason, has been a deeper 90-man roster than the Cowboys had a year ago. That increased competition should make the upcoming roster decisions especially difficult for the coaching staff. Several players caught Schottenheimer’s attention during Saturday’s victory. Quarterback Joe Milton, Malik Davis, Jaydon Blue, Jonathan Mingo, Nick Leverett, Trevor Keegan, Jaishawn Barham, LT Overton, Jay Toia, Shavon Revel and the team’s safeties were among those who stood out. More NFL news: - 6-foot-5 backup quarterback gets 'really high level' praise from Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer - C.J. Stroud's bizarre pregame routine leaves Texans fans scratching their heads - Jerry Jones’ response shows why Cowboys are taking $500K fine seriously - Kay Adams turns heads with viral pose at final day of Cowboys training camp - Dak Prescott has blunt 5-word response to Cowboys adding future HOFer Von Miller