Although the Dallas Cowboys lost their second straight preseason game on Saturday night, second-year safety Juanyeh Thomas continuing to impress is undoubtedly somebody to be happy about.
Thomas joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech last year, and managed to make the roster despite not playing in the regular season. He put himself on the map in Dallas' loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 12, intercepting Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the opening drive.
Then on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks, Thomas had yet another impressive performance but for entirely different reasons. He didn't have an interception this time, but he was still all over the field regardless. Thomas finished the game with seven total tackles, three more than any other Cowboy, and had a pass break up for good measure.
Despite the strong performance, Thomas did have one serious blunder on Saturday. After the Cowboys got a third-down stop to seemingly force a three and out, Thomas was called for a taunting penalty that extended the Seahawks drive. To make matters worse, Seattle ended up scoring a touchdown later that drive to go up 10-7 in the second quarter.
Thomas will undoubtedly be kicking himself for that mistake for a while to come. However, his strong play otherwise could be enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. The Cowboys are looking for added depth behind their top three safeties of Donovan Wilson, Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker, and Thomas has been a clear standout during the preseason.
Thomas could potentially cement his roster spot with another strong performance Saturday's preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
You can find Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News
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