6 snap judgments to Seattle Seahawks' preseason loss to Dallas Cowboys

The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Dallas Cowboys in preseason Week 1, and after the first quarter, things were not exactly pretty. Does it matter how the game unfolded? Not really.

The preseason is not a time for scheming or starters, but for players to try to prove they deserve to keep getting paid to play football. For most of the backups for Seattle, that didn't happen. The defensive line didn't get much pressure, and the secondary struggled in coverage.

Offensively, the run blocking was weak, but again, there is nothing to worry about. It is the individual matchups that have the biggest impact. In that situation, those below stood out quite a bit.

6 takeaways from the Seattle Seahawks loss in preseason Week 1

George Holani will make the team but maybe as RB3

Holani got a lot of work in the game, and one might wonder how well he would have done running behind Seattle's first-team unit. The backups appeared to be better in pass protection than in run blocking. The running back had some nice bursts, but not many places to run.

It is telling that free agent signee Emanuel Wilson wasn't asked to play. That is usually a sign that a team feels confident in what they will get from a player and doesn't need to see more. Wilson could be the starter in Week 1, as rookie Jadarian Price has missed a bunch of practices and might not be ready for lead-back reps yet.

He is too talented to sit on the bench, though. That means Wilson may start, Price would be the next back in, and Holani would get more limited reps.

Jalen Milroe looks much more confident this preseason, but has one concern

In terms of understanding the offense, even with a new scheme this year since the offensive coordinator changed from Klint Kubiak to Brian Fleury, Milroe was far more comfortable this preseason than last. He knew where the ball needed to go, and he ran intelligently, not just to run.

It only takes one or two plays to mess up an entire game, though. On Mthe quarterback's first drive, he muffed the snap. While he was able to recover, it likely reminded 12s of Milroe miscues last year. Maybe it was one accident, but Milroe has to prove he has better ball security.

Mike Macdonald is preparing Aden Durde for head coaching opportunities next year

Macdonald is entering his third season with the team, but has already had one coordinator leave to become a head coach when Kubiak was hired to be the head coach with the Las Vegas Raiders this past offseason. Aden Durde got a little attention around the same time, but he is a defensive coach who hasn't called plays. Yet.

Against the Cowboys, Durde appeared to be speaking into his microphone with defensive alignments while Macdonald was more of an observer further down the sideline. Durde is an excellent coach and has learned well from Macdonald, but with the potential of calling more plays, more teams will come calling for interviews next year. He deserves that.

Brian Fleury is taking a bold approach

Fleury is a first-time play-caller himself. He has held many different positions as a coach in his career, and his scheme should fit with what the Seattle Seahawks want to do as far as having an even ratio of pass to rush, but he still has things to learn.

He apparently will do that from the sidelines. Instead of sitting in the coaches' box high above the field, Fleury was doing his work next to his players. If he continues to do that and things aren't working smoothly, it wouldn't be surprising to see Fleury make a change as far as where he is calling his plays.

Rylie Mills was unimpressive

The defensive lineman missed much of his rookie season after recovering from a knee injury in his last year at Notre Dame, but he was fantastic in the Super Bowl, and the hope is that he will use that as a jumping-off point for year two. He has been excellent in training camp, but he wasn't against the Cowboys' backups.

In the preseason, teams don't scheme against one another, which means more opportunity for man-versus-man wins. Mills didn't have any, and had no quarterback pressures. This isn't a time to panic about a player expected to play a more important role in 2026, but let's hope it's not the start of a trend.

Rashad Rochelle is exciting, even though he will likely not make the active roster

The undrafted free agent from Indiana State has almost zero chance to make the roster this year, but he is worthy of keeping on the practice squad as a kick and punt returner alone. When he had an opportunity to make an impact against Dallas, he didn't pass it up.

He took a punt inside his own 30-yard line, juked and scooted past the initial line of punt coverage, crossed the field, and raced down the sideline. He was only caught from behind on a lunging tackle. Maybe he can find a niche in the NFL as a returner, if not an offensive weapon.

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