Cowboys’ Joe Milton let ‘fastball’ fly in preseason opener vs. Rams; working to utilize ‘change-up’ more often

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Joe Milton was amped Saturday night in his team’s preseason opener at the Los Angeles Rams. Why wouldn’t he be?

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer sat a number of starters, including Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott, to clear the way for Milton to marinate. The 25-year-old, entering his second NFL season in 2025, played in only one regular season game as a rookie with the New England Patriots last while riding the bench behind 2024 third overall pick quarterback Drake Maye. Milton’s last real game action came in Week 18 last season against the Buffalo Bills, which was also his NFL debut. He flew high that day, powering the Patriots a 23-16 victory over Buffalo by throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown on 22 of 29 passing in addition to a 1-yard rushing touchdown. This effort made him the only Patriots player since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger with both a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown in his NFL debut, according to CBS Sports Research.

Fast forward to Saturday night, and Milton was fired up to build upon that performance in his first outing with his new team after the Cowboys traded for him this offseason by sending a 2025 fifth-round pick to New England in exchange for the QB and a 2025 seventh-round draft choice. Schottenheimer wanted to have Milton get loose early, which is why he called pass plays on Dallas’ first three plays from scrimmage. All three were incompletions. 

Passes ended up being called on the Cowboys’ first plays of the night, something Schottenheimer didn’t intend to do. Milton completed just one of his first six throws for one yard, and Dallas went three-and-out on their first two drives. That allowed the Rams to outgain the Cowboys 160-1 in total yards at the end of the first quarter. Los Angeles racked up 10 first downs to Dallas’ zero as they rushed out to a 14-0 advantage, which ended up being a 31-21 victory for the home team. Milton settled in starting in the second quarter, finishing the game with 143 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception on 17 of 29 passing. He also ran for 22 yards on five carries.    

“Second quarter on, I felt great,” Milton said postgame. “I think the guys around me did a great job as far as like just understanding the plays, understanding what we wanted. … No matter what, I think I need to calm down faster, so I can start rolling in the first quarter. … I was very excited [on the first drive]. I think that’s what got me off my tracks, but I feel like if I was to go back out there again right now, I’d be able to settle down faster and make those throws for sure.”

The fix to early-game jitters for a quarterback is simple: rack up completions early in order to find a groove. Milton, whose arm strength Schottenheimer has likened to Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre’s, just needs to take what the defense gives him more frequently earlier in the game. 

“We need to throw more completions, he knows that,” Schottenheimer said postgame. … “He had his fastball out today, and there’s times that you got to kind of throw a little bit of a change up. … Part of staying in rhythm and part of me and Joe being on the same page because I’m the play caller is just executing the offense. Taking things when it’s not there. When you get moved off the spot check it down. But what a great learning experience for Joe. The guy hasn’t played a ton of football in real situations like this where he’s getting hit. … I’m still learning him as well in terms of his playstyle.”

Milton’s interception was a textbook example of where taking the checkdown would have paid major dividends for both he and the Cowboys. In Tuesday’s joint practice against the Rams, he and wide receiver Jalen Brooks generated the most explosive play for Dallas’ offense, a passing touchdown of over 60 yards. He attempted to go back to drink from that same well early in the second half, but this time his intended target was Ryan Flournoy. Also, Flournoy was smothered in double coverage. Milton’s throw was just to the left of Flournoy, which allowed Los Angeles safety Cam Lampkin to pick his throw off. 

“He’s got a checkdown in front, ultra competitive. He’s moving left, and threw it up there. He’s trusting Flo in that situation and trying to make a play,” Schottenheimer said. “I think that that’s one of the things that when Joe watches, he’ll be like ‘yeah, I probably should have taken the checkdown. I got moved off my launch point.’ Again, that’s why he needs to play.”  

When moments like that went down, Prescott would look to pull Milton aside and help him get resettled. 

“Just be calm, take the completions,” Milton said of Prescott’s advice. “Once I took those two completions in the second quarter, things started rolling. So just take completions and just let it all come to me.”

Moving on is hard, but it’s also Milton’s biggest takeaway from his rollercoaster ride of a Saturday night in Southern California. 

“Just flushing some of the drives I had and being able to come back and just be myself,” Milton said. “I feel like the most important part was when I came back to the sideline. The guys that kept me up, that really know me from the offseason training that we did, the offseason bonding. They really know me, so they kept me up. No matter what it was, they just really kept cheering me on for sure.”

That said, the 25-year-old will likely be stewing over his performance against the Rams until Monday when he goes through a film session with his Cowboys coaches and teammates. Milton also isn’t waiting to hear how Schottenheimer and the coaching staff would assess his performance after watching the tape back: he’s giving himself a nearly failing grade. 

“I feel like if I was grading myself, definitely a D, probably a D- if I’m being hard on myself,” Milton said. … “I just got to settle down early and just make all those throws. … For me being a competitor, it’s going to sit with me all night and probably in the morning, but once we pull that film up, flush it after that and get ready for next week.” 

Going forward, Schottenheimer’s Cowboys will continue to play “with a 7 iron most of the preseason” and run a very basic, vanilla scheme so as to not reveal who Dallas is in terms of X’s and O’s in his first year in charge. While some players might feel handcuffed by a watered down playbook, Milton feels like it’s an ideal set up going forward in the preseason with both his offensive linemen and pass catchers sometimes changing by the drive. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. I feel like it’s more simplifying, allows you to execute at a high level,” Milton said. “Obviously, I didn’t start off at a high level, but as the game progressed, things started to pick up. Plays started to happen. I feel like when you simplify the offense and the game plan, especially in the preseason game, it helps guys get open. Helps guys get in the right position at a fast place.”

Milton’s status going forward

The rocket-armed quarterback did check out of the game late after getting hit on the elbow, but both Milton and Schottenheimer confirmed that incident won’t affect the 25-year-old going forward. 

“He got hit on the elbow. Initial tests are that he’ll be OK, a little bit of a bruise,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ll get some more tests. … I think Joe is going to be OK.”

“Oh, I feel good, just get a little treatment in the morning, I’ll be alright,” Milton said. … “I think one of their players hit my elbow. It was probably one of my funny bone moments. I don’t know to be honest, but I’ll be good.”