Dallas Cowboys running back Phil Mafah knew he was going to get some snaps against the Los Angeles Rams, and the rookie did in the 31-21 loss at SoFi Stadium. While Deuce Vaughn started, Mafah was quickly injected into the game for what was his first taste of real NFL action.

Owners Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Stan Kroenke of the Los Angeles Rams talk on the field before the NFL Preseason 2025 game between D

Young offensive linemen need to play football. That’s a simple way of describing what must happen on a weekly basis in the NFL. For left guard Tyler Booker and left tackle Nate Thomas, that didn’t exactly happen in the Cowboys’ preseason opener against the Rams on Saturday.

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!  The first week of the preseason was so exciting that we're going to spend one more day breaking down everything that happened. We're also going to take a look at the biggest challenge facing every NFC team heading into the 2025 season.

Sixteen rookie quarterbacks made their NFL game debuts in the first week of preseason action over the weekend, and there was plenty of variance in the quality of their performances. There was also plenty of room for questions as they played differing amounts of time against differing levels of opposing defenses.

A team finding out a recent draft pick can be a reliable contributor in Year 1 makes a world of difference in how the roster is constructed. Coming out of the first weekend of preseason action, one question dominated multiple conversations: How long can certain squads keep their rookie quarterbacks out of the lineup?