The Cowboys spent last season leaking yards on the ground like a cracked pipe. Thirty‑first in run defense in the league. One of only five teams to allow a positive EPA against the run. That’s historically bad, to put it modestly. So, they tried fixing it. Mike Zimmer was sent packing, and Matt Eberflus slid into the chair. DeMarcus Lawrence? Gone. In his place, the Cowboys pushed Mazi Smith into a bigger role. They patched here, replaced there, but never addressed the gaping hole in the middle with a true 1‑tech. And now? Their offense is starting to feel what Dak Prescott feared.

No running lanes, breathing room, or rhythm. And Tuesday’s (5th August) joint practice with the Rams only brought the reminder: for all the offseason promises, some problems still linger. Dak Prescott spent much of the day scrambling or resetting as the pocket collapsed, a direct reflection of the unit’s instability up front.

The run game is still stalled

Javonte Williams got the first‑team carries. Rookie Jaydon Blue mixed in. Neither found much daylight. It was pile‑up after pile‑up. “They gave us some fits,” Brian Schottenheimer admitted. “We had some communication errors. The run game wasn’t great.” The Rams’ linebackers knifed downhill, untouched. Dallas linemen stayed glued to their doubles, never climbing to the second level. It looked like the same old problem in a new jersey. For a team that wants balance, the struggles stood out like neon.

Joe Milton’s early spark, sudden scare

If there was a flicker of hope, it came from backup quarterback Joe Milton. He came out firing. A deep shot to Jalen Brooks. A dart to KaVontae Turpin. Confidence, zip, rhythm – everything you’d want from the No. 2 behind Dak Prescott. Then it vanished. Less than 20 minutes in, Milton’s thumb smacked the helmet of Rams lineman Larrell Murchison. Just like that, his day was done.

“The trainers think he’s fine,” Schottenheimer said. “He had pretty good strength in it…It was more of a precautionary thing.” Dallas avoided the nightmare of a real injury. But the play of the day quickly turned into another ‘what if’ snapshot.

Turpin, the silver lining

Forget the Mario Bros duo. The star of the day was Turpin. He cooked the Rams’ secondary on back‑to‑back plays, juking defenders and ripping through open space. “The guy is just a dynamic weapon,” Schottenheimer said. “The things he can do running and catching, and the quickness and agility that he has is just different… Late in practice we kind of moved CeeDee (Lamb) outside, and Turp went inside. Those guys are a little bit interchangeable. I think he’s going to have a fabulous year.” That versatility gave a glimpse of how he’ll be used. On a day full of struggles, Turpin was the silver lining.

Flags for the stars

This was billed as the moment for CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to put on a show. Get a preseason look of how Dak Prescott’s double coverage would look like. Instead, the highlight reel turned into a referee’s flag fest. First Lamb got whistled, then Pickens followed on a different route. Same mistake, same yellow flag.

“You see the problems that they create,” Schottenheimer said, trying to keep perspective. “I think they both made some really good plays… But those guys, you don’t have to do much to get them open.” There’s truth in that. Pickens was a red‑zone weapon. Lamb, separated in space. But the flags mattered. The hype turned into yellow laundry, and Dallas’ top weapons never looked fully in sync.

Brian Schottenheimer’s vanilla test

It had been four years since Brian Schottenheimer last held the play‑sheet. On Tuesday (5th August), against LA, he finally picked it back up. He kept it simple. No big wrinkles or major shots downfield. Just ‘see what happens’ football. “It was fun,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s something you think about when you get the job, but when you’re out there doing it, instincts take over and you just call the game. I had some plays I liked and some I didn’t.”

The Cowboys tried patching it together after Zack Martin’s retirement by drafting Tyler Booker at No. 12. But the rookie is raw. Tyler Smith has dealt with knee tendinitis. Left tackle Tyler Guyton fractured a bone in his knee, pushing fringe options Asim Richards and Nate Thomas into starting reps. With little depth and cohesion, the offense struggled to find rhythm, missing running lanes and struggling with timing; issues that neutralize even elite playmakers. Dallas added La’el Collins as an insurance policy. But until the line stabilizes, Dak Prescott & Co. may carry the same leaks the defense tried to plug.

That was the theme. Struggles in the run game. Flags on the stars. A scary moment at quarterback. But also, a silver lining in Turpin and the knowledge that, yes, the Cowboys were keeping things vanilla. The question now is simple: were these just preseason hiccups, or the start of another season‑long pattern?