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Thursday night's battle between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers marked the beginning of the 2021 NFL season.
Sure, it was just a preseason game, but the return of NFL action in the annual Hall of Fame Game produced a ton of excitement for football fans around the world.
For the Cowboys, the Hall of Fame Game was all about getting experience for the rookies and less-proven players on the roster. Very few Cowboys starters participated in the game Thursday night. That said, there was still a lot of value and insight that came out of the Cowboys' first preseason outing.
In particular, the game allowed a chance to evaluate players in a live football setting. Evaluating real game action is a great way to find where strengths and weaknesses exist on the roster.
With that in mind, based on the Hall of Fame Game, here are three strengths and weaknesses of the 2021 Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys strengths
#1 - Micah Parsons
It's only been one preseason game and the Cowboys are already seeing early returns on their first-round draft investment.
Micah Parsons was selected number 12 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft in the hope that he would help revitalize the Cowboys' front seven. If Thursday night was any indication, Parsons is more than capable of meeting that expectation.
Parsons only played in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame Game, but his impact was immediate. He had three tackles and one fumble recovery.
The rookie linebacker always seemed to be near the football. He just flies around and makes plays. That's about the best thing you can say about an NFL linebacker.
It's still early, but there's star potential in Parsons.
#2 - Pass catchers
The Cowboys have one of the best starting wide receiver groups in the NFL. A trio consisting of CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup is about as good as it can get.
What was a little bit of an unknown prior to the HoF Game was their depth at wide receiver. After watching the Cowboys' first preseason action, it sure looks like the Cowboys are even stronger at wide receiver than we originally thought.
Malik Turner led the Cowboys with four catches for 47 yards. Yes, he needs to clean up his fumbling issues, but he showed he can be a good backup for Dallas.
Other strong performers at wide receiver consisted of Cedrick Wilson and Aaron Parker. Both had two catches. All three wideouts will still have to battle for a roster spot, but their performance on Thursday night was a strong indication of just how stacked the Cowboys are at wide receiver.
#3 - Backup running back
Ezekiel Elliott is undoubtedly the Cowboys' starting running back, but just like at wide receiver, Dallas has some great depth at the running back position.
Last year's backup, Tony Pollard, didn't play all that much in the Cowboys' preseason opener, but third-string running back Rico Dowdle did. Dowdle had 43 yards rushing on 5.4 yards per carry. He also added two catches and 16 receiving yards.
Having a dual-threat third-string running back as good as Dowdle is impressive. It speaks a lot about how well Dallas has been able to stockpile offensive talent. Elliott, Pollard, and Dowdle form a top-five running back group in the NFL.
Dallas Cowboys weaknesses
#1 - Backup quarterback
Dak Prescott sat out the preseason contest against the Steelers as he recovers from a shoulder injury. That meant quarterback duties fell to the Cowboys' three backup QBs. Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci and Cooper Rush all received roughly the same amount of playing time.
Gilbert was the most impressive of the three. He went 9/13 with 104 passing yards. DiNucci was the weakest of the group as he went 7/17 with 89 yards passing and one interception. Rush didn't look much better, going 8/13 with only 70 yards passing.
The stats don't tell the full story either. Pittsburgh's secondary got their hands on a ton of passes and missed a couple of opportunities for interceptions. The final stat line for the Dallas quarterbacks could have looked a lot worse than it already did.
Simply put, if forced to start any of the three quarterbacks who played Thursday night, the Cowboys will be in some trouble.
#2 - Secondary
Dallas had major struggles in the secondary last season and spent all offseason trying to find upgrades. Even so, the secondary was not up to the mark against the Steelers.
To be fair, the Cowboys didn't play many starters and the ones that did only played a few series. Still, it had to be a disappointment to see the depth struggle the way it did.
In total, Pittsburgh's quarterbacks went 18/28 with 174 passing yards and one touchdown. The Dallas secondary had only one pass deflection the entire game. They provided very little resistance.
The Cowboys will be hoping the starters will be much better when they get the opportunity, but it's a concern that the depth in the backend is lacking.
#3 - Backup edge rushers
DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory will give the Cowboys a formidable duo at the edge position. Who backs them up is a cause for concern. Much like the Cowboys' secondary, the Dallas backup edge rushers underperformed against the Steelers.
The Cowboys only registered one sack and three quarterback hits. That's a very subpar performance.
Dorance Armstrong had a few nice moments and he looks to be the Cowboys' top backup at edge, but other than that there's some real work to do.
