FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys' preseason was over only a few minutes with their 28-17 loss to the Houston Texans when executive vice president Stephen Jones was asked about the optimism he feels entering the 2016 season.

"Really like our football team," Jones said. "Obviously no one's naïve when you lose you're starting quarterback for some time. That certainly wasn't in our plans. You certainly hope something like that doesn't happen, but other than that obviously Dak's emergence makes you feel better about having that happen to you because there is a lot of optimism for Dak. Other than that I think the team has exceeded our expectations here in training camp and guys have performed well and done a nice job for us. Yeah, we're very optimistic about this team."

The Cowboys' preseason was defined by the fractured back of Tony Romo and the play of Dak Prescott, their fourth-round pick.

But what else happened over three-plus weeks in Oxnard, California, four preseason games, the opening of a new practice facility, The Star, in Frisco, Texas?

Here's a review:

Best moment: When the Cowboys took to the practice field for the first time in Oxnard, they were joined arm-in-arm by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Police Chief David Brown and the families of the Dallas police officers that were killed in the line of duty in July. Jason Witten came up with the idea, passed it on to his teammates and the team put together the testimonial to hopefully convey a message of unity. Brown and Rawlings spoke to the players before practice and the families had dinner with the players after practice. It was as emotional opening to training camp I witnessed in 20 years.

Worst moment: There is no doubt it is Romo's injury. All the positivity that came from Romo's offseason, even with surgery to his left collarbone, and his training camp work came to a halt when he reached for his back after he was tracked down by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril. As Romo went into a slide, Avril's body weight jammed Romo into the turf, causing a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra. While Prescott's performance in the preseason was terrific, Romo is the Cowboys' best reason to hope they can return to the playoffs.

Best what if: Would the optimism Jones feels -- and shared by plenty of fans -- be the same if Kellen Moore was the Cowboys' starter in Week 1? Prescott only had the chance to play so much in the preseason because Moore suffered a broken right fibula on Aug. 2. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has been Moore's biggest proponent, but he's still only played in three games and had six interception and four touchdowns last season. You feel for Moore, who has waited patiently for a chance to play, but would he have done what Prescott did? It's the best "what if" perhaps in history.

Best rookie: Ezekiel Elliott had just seven preseason carries and as impressive as they were against Seattle, Prescott's showing was even better. He completed 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for two scores. He was poised in the huddle. He was composed on the field. It wasn't always perfect, but he made plays. Elliott's practice time in California was limited because of a sore hamstring. Prescott's play gives the Cowboys hope for the future at the position, but they need him to play well in the present if they want to get back to the playoffs.

Biggest disappointment: Cedric Thornton signed the Cowboys' biggest free-agent deal of the offseason at four years, $17 million and yet he was starting the final preseason game while the rest of the regulars were watching. But he's not my choice. I'm going with the fact that the Cowboys still have no idea about their pass rush, even with these waiver-wire claims. When they line up against the New York Giants, Jack Crawford will be their left defensive end and Benson Mayowa will be their right defensive end. Terrell McClain will be their nose tackle. The Cowboys are relying on Rod Marinelli's coaching to pull something out of nothing up front.

Best play: Dez Bryant was limited to nine games last season because of a broken right foot and hardly looked like the dominant receiver he had been when he played. It took him one drive to show everybody he was back. On the sixth play of the drive he caught an 18-yard back-shoulder pass from Prescott. He ended the drive with a leaping touchdown catch over Coty Sensabaugh, reaching the ball over the goal line as he went to the ground. It was similar to his overturned catch in the 2014 playoffs against the Green Bay Packers, except this time the call stood. More importantly Bryant declared he was back.

Worst awareness: Aug. 25 was not a good day for the Cowboys because of Romo's back injury. It was not a good day for Elliott either, with TMZ cameras catching him coming out of a marijuana dispensary in Seattle. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was disappointed and upset. Elliott apologized. "I seen it walking around and I was curious," Elliott said. "I didn't really think about what the repercussions could have been. It wasn't like I was trying to hide anything. I took pictures with people. It wasn't like I was up to no good. I was curious. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. I wasn't breaking any laws. It was a bad decision, something I shouldn't have done." Perception matters.