The Cowboys looked different in their Week 7 win over Philadelphia, with the offense seeming to get back on track after two lackluster performances and the defense perhaps flashing a bit of promise, albeit against an Eagles offense that was without several key starters and had their biggest playmaker clearly limited by a hamstring issue.
If Monday's 38-21 win was indeed a turning point in the Cowboys' 2026 season, though, it may also have set the table for some personnel tweaks moving forward, as the game's snap counts indicate some interesting adjustments behind the scenes at The Star.
Second-year linebacker Shemar James got the surprise start at MIKE linebacker, handling green-dot play-calling duties instead of both Jaishawn Barham and the returning
DeMarvion Overshown. James finished the game tied for the lead in defensive snaps and overall tackles, making it a second strong showing in a row from the former fifth-round draft pick. For his part, Overshown also looked good in his comeback, playing almost two-thirds of the unit's snaps and snagging that critical interception in the fourth quarter. Barham was on the field for just 21 snaps, his lowest usage thus far in his rookie season.
Other counts of note for the defense: Joey Porter Jr. got his most snaps yet (51) as a Cowboy, Cobie Durant (24 snaps) was eased back into the lineup after missing time, Von Miller (18 snaps) saw an uptick in playing time, and James Houston got just three snaps in his season debut, though he also got a fair amount of work on special teams.
Week 7 marked the first game this season in which no Cowboy played every defensive snap. DaRon Bland remains the defense's 2026 snaps leader through seven outings, with Caleb Downs just four snaps behind him; Downs missed a couple plays Monday night with an equipment issue.
Offensively, it's worth pointing out that George Pickens got 14 fewer snaps than CeeDee Lamb. Pickens is dealing with a sore shoulder and may have aggravated it further against the Eagles, but he may have also gotten some additional bench time after head coach Brian Schottenheimer's comments last week about his effort on run plays or passes not designed to target him. Ryan Flournoy looked to be the main beneficiary, getting 12 more snaps than Pickens (and many of them were in run situations). Jonathan Mingo also got extra work on Monday night- 23 offensive snaps, his most of the season- in large part due to the injury to KaVontae Turpin.
Jake Ferguson saw under 56% of the offense's snaps for the second week in a row, as Brevyn Spann-Ford got his fourth start of 2026 and saw his highest usage- 53%- so far this season. Spann-Ford caught both of his targets in the passing game, while Ferguson went 0-for-1 receiving. We may be witnessing a passing of the baton at tight end in Dallas.
Spann-Ford was also a heavy contributor on special teams, with mainstays Hunter Luepke, Luke Schoonmaker, Ameer Speed, Justin Barron, Alijah Clark, and Markquese Bell all continuing to get a lot of action in the third phase. Cornerback Shavon Revel only saw eight defensive snaps but he did tie his heaviest special-teams usage of his career.
Here's the full rundown of which Cowboys saw playing time against Philadelphia in the Week 7 win.
Snap count figures are published by the league shortly following the game and are considered unofficial. They are subject to change after further film review.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Pickens reduction, LB responsibilities highlight Cowboys W7 snap count
