Seahawks-Cowboys Preseason Opener: Five Things to Watch as Seattle Starts Its August Schedule

The Seahawks begin their preseason on Saturday night with a matchup at Lumen Field against the Dallas Cowboys, a traditional early-August test that matters less for standings and more for clarity. Seattle’s preseason opener is the first chance for new and returning groups to show how they translate in-game adjustments, including how quickly coaches can simplify and sharpen roles as the exhibition schedule unfolds.

Seattle’s own preview frames the night around “five things to watch,” an approach that typically underscores how teams separate depth from decision points. In a preseason opener, the most important evaluations often come from repeatable processes rather than one-off moments, such as whether the offensive line can sustain rhythm against live rush looks, whether the defensive front can communicate across formations, and whether the second and third units can execute the same basic assignments.

For Seattle, quarterback play in the preseason opener will likely center on tempo and decision-making rather than production for its own sake. Coaches generally use early reps to sort out who manages protections, adjusts the play at the line, and keeps the offense on schedule when the opponent shows different coverages. In the same way, the development of the passing game is measured by execution. That includes route timing, protection integrity on longer drops, and how receivers look after the catch when there is no long leash.

The defensive side of the ball is often where preseason openers reveal the most about coaching emphasis. With more substitutions than a regular-season game, the “five things” watch list usually highlights how teams handle pre-snap identification, whether gap integrity holds when personnel packages change, and if the coverage units can communicate without relying on identical personnel. Those are the types of issues that can compound quickly if they are not addressed early.

Special teams is another area that preseason openers illuminate, because it gives coaches a high volume of opportunities to evaluate technique. Kick and punt execution, return reads, and coverage discipline are often where depth charts get built for the regular season. Even when the stakes are low for the scoreboard, coaches still want to see consistent fundamentals, including secure holds, clean snaps, and tackling form in space.

Finally, preseason openers act as a deadline of sorts for roster roles, even though the roster itself does not settle in one game. The exhibition offers a first look at how players handle situational football, such as third downs, red-zone periods, and late-game usage, with starters and key contributors typically limited to preserve health and preserve evaluation accuracy.

The practical question coming out of Saturday night will be what Seattle can carry forward to its next preseason reps: which units look prepared, which matchups the staff can trust, and which adjustments are needed before the games begin to start resembling more purposeful regular-season testing.

For fans, the simplest way to follow the “five things to watch” is to treat the preseason opener as a film session with a scoreboard attached. Track whether each group repeats its assignments, responds cleanly when the opponent pressures different areas, and avoids the kind of unforced errors that tend to show up when players are still figuring out their boundaries in live action.