Cowboys Camp Diary: Dallas Won the Practice — Then Nearly Lost the Peace

OXNARD, Calif. — Two weeks ago it was the Rams. Tuesday it was the Saints. Either way, the pattern for this Cowboys defense in joint practices is starting to look the same: overwhelm the line of scrimmage first, worry about the manners later. Dallas controlled long stretches of its lone joint practice with New Orleans at these same River Ridge fields, got a vintage deep shot from Dak Prescott to George Pickens on the other side of the ball, and then spent the final hour getting dragged into exactly the kind of afternoon Brian Schottenheimer didn't want on tape.

By the time it ended, one Cowboys pass rusher had been sent off the field, a Cowboys cornerback had thrown hands with a Saints receiver in the practice's most-replayed moment, and a Cowboys safety had been slammed to the turf in a highlight nobody in Dallas's front office wanted to see the day before final roster cuts start getting real.

The Front Four Set the Tone Early

Before any of that, this was a genuinely good day of work for the Dallas defensive line, and it started with Quinnen Williams looking like the best player on the field regardless of jersey. Williams tossed Saints backup lineman David Edwards aside to blow up a rushing attempt in one of the cleanest individual reps of the entire practice — the kind of rep that doesn't show up in a highlight package but tells a coaching staff everything it needs to know about a strength mismatch.

The pass rush backed him up. Rashan Gary, whose camp had been relatively quiet to that point, got home for two sacks and was a reminder to anyone tuning out his name that he's still very much in the mix up front. Rookie Malachi Lawrence added a sack of his own, and James Houston cashed in behind him when Lawrence's pressure flushed the pocket. For a Dallas front that has spent camp answering questions about depth beyond its top names, it was as complete a rushing performance as the Cowboys have put together against outside competition all summer.

Prescott Found Pickens — But the Backup Line Is Still a Question

Dallas didn't need trick plays to make its point in the passing game, though it had one of those too. Dak Prescott's best rep of the day was the simplest: a deep shot down the field that George Pickens climbed the ladder for and came down with in traffic, the kind of 50-50 ball Pickens has made a habit of turning into 90-10 all camp. Jake Ferguson kept building on a strong summer of his own, and second-year receiver Ryan Flournoy continued making the kind of quiet, technical plays that have started to get him mentioned in the same breath as the more established names in that room.

The one gap Dallas couldn't hide Tuesday was behind its starting five. With the first unit off the field for stretches, the backup offensive line struggled to hold up, enough that it's fair to wonder — as more than one observer in Oxnard did afterward — whether the front office needs to keep making calls about outside help before final cuts. It's the same story that's followed this group for most of camp: excellent at the top, thin in a hurry underneath it.

Ezeiruaku, Carson and a Very Dallas Kind of Chippy

The trouble started, depending on who's telling it, when a Saints defender took a swing at Javonte Williams after a hard-fought run — shoving more than throwing, but enough to set the tone for what followed. It escalated fast from there. Cornerback Caelen Carson and Saints receiver Brock Rechsteiner traded punches and shoves in what became the single most-replayed clip of the entire week, and when safety Jalen Thompson stepped in to break it up, Rechsteiner put him on the ground with a takedown that onlookers immediately — and accurately — described as a German suplex.

Nobody on the Dallas sideline was more in the middle of it than Donovan Ezeiruaku. The Cowboys' pass rusher squared up with multiple Saints offensive linemen over the course of the session, threw punches that connected, and was ultimately sent off the field for instigating a larger brawl — the second time this camp he's been pulled for fighting, after a similar incident during a padded practice weeks earlier. Add a jersey mix-up that had Saints defenders lining up in offensive-numbered gear because of a color clash between the two teams' practice kits, and it made for a chaotic final stretch before either coaching staff got the version of the day it actually wanted.

Schottenheimer had reportedly sent his team out with instructions to play with an edge. He got one. Whether it was the right edge is a separate question — one he'll have more to say about once the tape is back in the building.

What the Secondary Gave Up

It wasn't a flawless day in coverage. Rookie safety Caleb Downs, working through his early growing pains against Chris Olave — a familiar face from their Ohio State days — lost a contested rep in the red zone that went for a touchdown, and defensive back Devin Moore got beat down the sideline on a well-thrown back-shoulder ball. Nothing that will show up on a scouting report in September, but exactly the kind of rep Dallas wants its young secondary pieces logging now, against a real route-runner, rather than for the first time in a game that counts.

The Injury Report, and a New Face on the Wind-Sprint Line

Fullback Hunter Luepke walked off under medical supervision with an undisclosed injury, and running back Jaydon Blue is being monitored for a shoulder issue that has put his availability for next week's preseason trip to Arizona in question — one more data point in a running back room Dallas is still trying to sort out before the games start counting. New Orleans had its own absences, with Alvin Kamara (knee) and Quincy Riley (groin) both exiting early.

The one unambiguously good headline for Dallas: newly signed Von Miller was on the field for the first time in a Cowboys uniform, even if his workload was limited to the closing wind sprints while he works his way back into practice shape. Cowboys legends Michael Irvin and Sean Lee watched from the sideline, part of a strong alumni presence on both sides that also included Saints Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees.

Round Two Is Already on the Calendar

This wasn't the last time these two teams see each other this summer, and it might not even be the more physical meeting. New Orleans travels to Arlington on Friday, August 28, for Dallas's preseason home game at AT&T Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. — a real game, with real snaps that count against a roster. It comes six days after Dallas's own preseason trip to face the Cardinals on August 22.

None of Tuesday counts. Not Quinnen Williams tossing David Edwards aside, not Pickens climbing the ladder, not Ezeiruaku's early trip to the locker room. But if this is what a joint practice with nothing on the line looks like from the Dallas side, the Cowboys will take the football part of it and hope the rest stays in Oxnard when these two teams meet for real on August 28.

By Marty Gaines

Editorial Voice, The Doomsday Legacy