The silence inside AT&T Stadium last fall was almost louder than the boos. You could hear the frustration in every seat left empty by the fourth quarter, in every fan who stayed — arms crossed, eyes resigned — as the scoreboard once again showed a Dallas team unable to close. In 2024, the Cowboys lost 7 of 9 home games. In six of those, they didn’t score a single point in the final quarter.

That brutal stat isn’t just floating in the locker room — it’s being confronted. And under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the reckoning has already begun. “He’s making us feel it,” linebacker Jack Sanborn said during a Sirius XM interview on June 12. “The practices are hard, on individual, they make it hard so that you can build that hustle and energy in order to be able to fly around in the 4th quarter. Intense at the same time. We enjoy our time out there.”

That quote hits differently when you pair it with the scoreboard history. This isn’t just conditioning. It’s course correction. A shift in identity. Sanborn added more context: “Yeah, I mean the hustle, intensity, and making plays on the ball. Just being a smart football player, situationally and everything as well. I think the big part is the hustle and intensity, especially at this time of the year, getting that football shape.”

And Schottenheimer’s no rookie to the grind. Though this is his first official head coaching role, he’s spent over three decades working through NFL sidelines — from quarterback rooms to coordinator booths. But now, every decision is under the microscope. That includes how he manages Dak Prescott, whose leash with fans and front office has never felt tighter.

Even as internal work ramps up, the Cowboys now know what’s waiting for them externally. The league just dropped the official schedule for training camp joint practices. And for Dallas? It’s shaping up to be anything but low-key.

Brian Schottenheimer needs to be careful during joint practice

On August 5, the Cowboys and Rams will face off in a joint training camp session in Oxnard, California. On paper, it’s just another NFC team. But history says otherwise. In 2021, the last time these two teams shared a field during camp, it didn’t take long for things to turn ugly.

Within the first hour, cameras on HBO’s Hard Knocks captured Rams DT Aaron Donald and Cowboys OL Connor Williams in a heated tangle. Former Dallas coach Mike McCarthy had to draw the line: “We have no interest in fights… Those days are over.” Except, they weren’t really over. Because this rivalry goes back further.

In 2015, the teams’ Oxnard brawl felt more like a street fight than scrimmage. What began as tough competition quickly spiraled. Randy Gregory laid a hit on Tre Mason. Eugene Sims retaliated with a two-handed blow to Ben Gardner’s helmet. Then came the headline: Rams cornerback Imoan Claiborne clocking Dez Bryant in a melee that saw helmets fly into the stands.

That day ended in statements of regret from both franchises. But in between the apologies and highlight reels, a tone was set. Cowboys-Rams joint practices aren’t drills. They’re powder kegs. And for Schottenheimer — trying to instill discipline, endurance, and late-game poise — it’s a potential trap. One outburst can undo months of messaging. One misstep can overshadow everything they’ve worked to rebuild.

The Cowboys say they’re focused on finishing stronger in 2025. This August, they’ll get a chance to prove that applies to more than just the fourth quarter.