The Dallas Cowboys did not get nearly as much on-field work with live reps against another opponent as they would have expected, or head coach Brian Schottenheimer would have liked, in Tuesday’s joint practice against the New Orleans Saints from Oxnard.
The overall most noteworthy thing that happened in the practice was an obscene number of skirmishes and fights, which put into jeopardy if the scrimmage would even make it until the end. It ultimately did, but by the time it got there, six or seven
different fighting incidents made it hard to read through these bold red lines and find the real football things to talk about.
Football things did indeed happen though, enough to pick out a winner each for both sides of the ball, as well as a third that oversaw it all. Here are Tuesday’s three winners against the Saints.
1. QB Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott did throw an early interception in this practice, but bounced back to keep his name firmly near the top of most-consistent performers in a good way this training camp for the Cowboys. It is Prescott’s side of the ball where the Cowboys have some of their most experienced and outwardly competitive players, yet the expectation that any of these names will see real preseason playing time is still doubtful.
Perhaps this circumstance served as a dash of extra motivation for the Cowboys offense to sling it all over the yard on Tuesday, because with Prescott at the helm they did just that.
Some of Prescott’s top highlight plays came throwing to players that also did not see the field at all against the Seahawks, mainly George Pickens. It’s hard to understate how much the entire dynamic of this team can change on a dime once they have the element of Prescott throwing over the top for Pickens on an every-down basis, and thanks to Prescott’s accuracy there were reminders of this against the Saints.
Prescott didn’t just stop at making sure Pickens got his work and looked good doing so, continuing to spread the ball around with elite “point guard” like efficiency, also throwing this touchdown to Ryan Flournoy and hitting Jake Ferguson throughout the afternoon as well.
2. CB Reddy Steward
As for the Cowboys defense coached up by Christian Parker, all eyes were yet again on the secondary where questions remain to be answered about who can separate themself at cornerback and safety. The best things the backend of this defense did as a group against the Seahawks was play strong on the perimeter in run support, as well as bounce back after allowing an opening drive touchdown to shut the Seahawks out for three quarters and change.
There were flashes of all these same things in a scrimmage setting against the Saints, and one player popped in both coverage and run support alike, Reddy Steward.
Steward had one of two interceptions on the day for the Dallas defense, even though the play in a real game would have likely been an Isiah Land sack instead. Steward also made this play weaving around a block to make a strong tackle against the run.
In six of the Cowboys last seven games of 2025, Steward played at least half of the team’s defensive snaps. While this may not being saying a whole lot because of the ineptness of said defense, this deep into 2026 training camp, Steward is finding a way to lean on this experience and stand out with some regularity. Based off of Tuesday’s performance, he will be a player to circle for Saturday’s second preseason test at the Arizona Cardinals.
3. HC Brian Schottenheimer
At first glance, it might seem a bit odd to put the head coach of a team involved with so many extra curricular activities during a scrimmage as a winner of the day, but yet here we are. When it comes to ways the Cowboys have been feeling and moving different from years past this offseason, Schottenheimer’s overall culture having another year to marinate is a big part of this. With the Cowboys – and Saints – both acting out of line for so much of the practice on Tuesday, it gives Schotty a chance to really put this culture to the test.
The head coach said he was “disappointed in the work” on Tuesday because he didn’t think the team “got enough good work”, with “too many bodies on the ground”. Schotty later reiterated that the nature of the team’s remaining practices has to be better, and having the chance to set the tone as the leader that can help this team do so makes him a winner in some sense on the day. Handling adversity is something every team will have to go through in the regular season, and even that elusive postseason the Cowboys are more than aiming for this year, and right now Dallas gets a chance to “practice” of sorts what handling this may look like following the joint practice.
It stands to reason the Cowboys will be hearing plenty from Schottenheimer about culture and standards in the coming days, and if this message is received as well as others that Schottenheimer has gotten through, Dallas will come out the other side of this a more cohesive and disciplined team in time for the games to really matter.
