Cowboys defense shines in joint practice with Rams; big day for Revel, Overshown, Barron — Yahoo Sports

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

At this point in training camp, players have grown tired of lining up against their own teammates. The prospect of cranking up the intensity against guys in different-colored uniforms is always a welcome novelty.

Tuesday saw the Cowboys take a little trip eastbound on US-101, leaving behind their summer homebase in Oxnard for a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams in Woodland Hills, Calif. And while the host team elected not to allow any fans to be present or cellphone video to be taken of anything other than individual drills and stretching, the assembled media provided followers with minute-by-minute reports on social media of how things went down once it went to offense-versus-defense on two adjoining fields.

Both Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Rams head coach Sean McVay had hinted they'd be playing things close to the vest in this practice session, especially since the two teams will face each other for real in Week 15 of the season. That means fairly vanilla playcalling and somewhat limited previews of things like personnel groupings and formations.

But the day nevertheless saw several Cowboys step up and make an impression, and the overall verdict on the team as a whole- especially Christian Parker's new-look defense- is that the 2026 Cowboys look much improved over the unit that got bullied by the Rams in a joint practice last summer.

Here's a taste of how the workout went, as told by the reporters on the ground.

Cowboys WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling is back in the mix today. No LB Jaishawn Barham, DT Jonathan Bullard, CB Devin Moore or S Malik Hooker.

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 11, 2026

Myles Garrett (out for a second consecutive practice) has “a little” swelling in his knee, Rams head coach Sean McVay said. Garrett told McVay that he’s at about 85%, McVay said. “I don't know what 100% is going to look like, but it must be pretty good if that's 85%.”

— Benjamin Royer (@thebenroyer) August 11, 2026

Roughly 15 snaps so far of Cowboys D vs Rams O, and it’s already a better showing than last year. Ezeiruaku sack. A Revel PBU downfield on Nacua. Overshown making plays in pass and run game. Rams working a lot of short game.

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 11, 2026

One interesting note: Rams and Cowboys jumped right into 11v11 and Brian Schottenheimer is spending his time watching the defense, instead of the offense. He’s been more involved with the defense this year and he’s allowed Klayton Adams more responsibility with the offense.

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) August 11, 2026

good luck against @_CeeDeeThree 😶 #CowboysCamp | @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/qYWua8soIL

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 11, 2026

Seeing more Caleb Downs in a true safety alignment today along with his usual nickel responsibilities that we’ve seen more of in camp. Further emphasis that he will be moved around throughout games.

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 11, 2026

Cowboys CB Shavon Revel just had the most casual hit stick I’ve seen. Went to pop a Rams RB and sent him flying and forced a fumble.

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) August 11, 2026

Shavon Revel having a great day. Playing physical. Forced a fumble and has had two big PBUs on plays where the Rams were clearly testing him. One on a downfield ball to Nacua, another on a fade from the 10-yard line to Nacua. Hasn’t been perfect but it’s been his best day in…

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 11, 2026

Rashan Gary put the Rams first-team RT in the dirt on his way to almost sacking Stafford … but Stafford just narrowly got the ball away for a short completion. #Cowboys