WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys’ starters aren’t expected to play in the preseason. Their best work to get ready for Week 1 is likely to come in their joint training camp practices with the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. They had one of those sessions Tuesday as they traveled to the Rams practice facility in Woodland Hills.

The Cowboys arrived around 9:30 a.m. PT, and things ended around noon. There wasn’t much individual work. There was no seven-on-seven. The teams basically got right into team drills with the Rams’ offense and Cowboys’ defense on one field and the Cowboys’ offense and the Rams’ defense on the other. The team-drill portion was broken down into three segments with special teams work in between.

We were not permitted to record video of the team-drill portion. Here are the highlights.

Offense

• The first-team offense was very good in red zone work. Dak Prescott had two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, one to KaVontae Turpin and another to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. The best highlight of the four was probably a back-shoulder throw to Lamb. Prescott also had a touchdown pass on a slant to Ryan Flournoy.

That’s one of the biggest areas the Cowboys need to improve on from a year ago. The extra work they’ve been putting in during camp practices appears to be paying off.

“I think that was probably the stronger drill or the stronger period of the day for us, and so that’s good,” Prescott said after practice. “Obviously coming off of the struggles at the end of last year, it’s good to see. Even though we’ve got things in our back pocket that obviously we’re not going pull out just yet, so most definitely.”

• George Pickens continued to be the star of stars. He’s had an excellent camp, and that continued with multiple catches, including a nice back-shoulder grab along the right sideline and a slant he took in for a score.

“That’s just George being George,” Prescott said. “That’s what I expect from him. That’s what he expects from himself. There’s still probably a ball or two that we want to correct.”

Prescott had one interception while targeting Pickens in the end zone.

“(That one) can get cleaned up very simply,” Prescott said. “(That practice) is what I expect from George. He just does great things, and today was another showing of that.”

• Joe Milton was the second-team quarterback. He had a solid day with one interception that came on a highlight leaping grab by a Rams linebacker as Milton was moving to his left.

• Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams called the offense while Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer bounced back and forth between the fields.

• It was not a great day for right tackle Terence Steele. He had issues in pass protection going against Rams outside linebacker Byron Young. Rams star edge rusher Myles Garrett did not participate in the practice. He watched from the sideline.

• Tyler Guyton spent time with the trainers looking at his arm but he returned and appeared to have a good day.

• Starting running back Javonte Williams probably had his best run in the second team-drill period. It came on a handoff he took to the left, running behind Tyler Smith and Guyton. There was no tackling to the ground, but the play would have likely gone for more than 10 yards.

• No. 2 running back Jaydon Blue lost a fumble on a carry during the first team-drill period.

• Working with the third team, Sam Howell had a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Michael Trigg.

The Cowboys have been running after practice to help improve their conditioning. Some Rams players cracked jokes about it as they exited the fields after practice, which led to some spirited trash talk between the teams. Schottenheimer said the usual running was the idea of the players, not the coaching staff. “We’ve got the right guys,” he added. “The leaders of this football team are some of our best players. Historically, that usually means you’re gonna have a lot of success.”

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer came away from his team’s joint practice against the Rams on Tuesday in good spirits. “They had their plays, we had our plays,” he said. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

Defense

• Dallas’ defense was destroyed by the Rams’ offense when the teams practiced together last year. And Los Angeles was without MVP QB Matthew Stafford. The Cowboys faced Stafford on Tuesday, and they had a much better showing this time. Stafford connected on a few big plays, but that’s to be expected from him and their talented offense.

“We’re a different defense,” Schottenheimer said after practice. “You guys know that. You can look at us on paper and see we’re a different defense. Having practiced against (our offense) every day the mentality and mindset of the defense is different. I think that’s great. (The Rams) challenge you in a lot of different ways. They’re a very, very physical run team. … Matthew Stafford has an unbelievable ability to get the ball out of his hand fast, so they’re hard to get home on.

“But a few guys jumped out today. Quinnen Williams, I think we should probably keep that contract. I think that’s a good contract for us. Thrilled about him. … I thought it was a battle. They had their plays, we had our plays. It’s what a joint practice should look like.”

• Williams was arguably Dallas’ best defender on the day, causing plenty of problems in the run and pass game up the middle.

• Backup linebacker Justin Barron had the most highlights of anyone, recording three interceptions. One came off Stafford and the other two were on throws from Rams backup QB Stetson Bennett.

• Donovan Ezeiruaku was noticeable, especially early with a sack and a nice run stop.

• Caleb Downs had an impressive tackle for loss on a run play and was active all over the field. He was working more at safety as Malik Hooker did not practice for personal reasons.

• Shavon Revel continued to build on his strong camp. He nearly intercepted Stafford on a well-defended fade ball in the end zone. Cobie Durant also recorded a pass breakup.

• DeMarvion Overshown continued to move around well. Dee Winters continued to make plays at the other linebacker spot. Those two remain the expected starting linebackers Week 1.

“It’s just showing what we’ve been building on from the spring up until now,” Overshown said after practice. “It was good to hit a different color jersey. … Getting to see what we got against another top offense, it puts stuff in perspective. Just another block that we’re building on.”

CHICAGO — It’s not every day you see baseball fans in religious vestments drinking beer and eating hot dogs, but at Rate Field on Tuesday, the holy and the profane met to celebrate the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 fan at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV.

The Sox’s long-awaited “Pope Hat” promotion took place on a hot, humid night in Chicago, as the White Sox faced the Cincinnati Reds and the team gave away almost 40,000 mitre hats emblazoned with its logo and lappets on the back.

The White Sox sold out the ballpark (announced attendance: 38,113), and the hats were going for around $70 on eBay during the game, which was more than the going rate for tickets on the secondary market ahead of first pitch.

Ever since Robert Prevost, a diehard White Sox fan from south suburban Dolton, Ill., was elected to serve as the leader of the Catholic Church last year, the team hasn’t been shy about hyping the connection. Chicago put up a mural in the ballpark, held a Mass there and has sent more emissaries bearing gifts to the Vatican than some small countries.

“Anytime we can celebrate the Pope and his fandom of the White Sox is something we’ll lean into,” Chicago manager Will Venable said.

White Sox fans pose in their “Pope Hats” before Tuesday’s game against the Reds. (Jon Greenberg / The Athletic)

The hat giveaway was the brainchild of White Sox marketing executive Mike Downey. It quickly grew in size and scope after its initial announcement in early April.

“He’s the one who really championed this hat concept,” White Sox CMO Brooks Boyer said of Downey. “It started as a 2,500 special ticket promo giveaway. And then as they went on sale, they went right away, and he came in and said, ‘I think I can get the vendor to do 500 more.’ So we were going to go to 3,000. Once those went, he came in and said, ‘We’ve got to go to 40,000.’ The only anxiety was can we get 40,000 here by the time of this day. So as soon as we figured out we could, it’s been a lot of fun to be part of.”

How big was this moment? Well, Boyer had to address reporters in front of a bank of microphones in the dugout after Venable.

The installation of the first American Pope last spring hasn’t gotten old in Chicago, and on Tuesday, the mood around the ballpark was joyful. There were more than enough hats to go around, and many fans rocked them on a muggy night. Some dressed up in costumes and even more wore bootleg “Chicago Pope” T-shirts. The team put up “Leo Knows” signs about White Sox players, a twist on the famous “Bo Knows” Nike campaign.

Pope Leo was everywhere at the White Sox game. (Jon Greenberg / The Athletic)

“Obviously we want to be respectful of the position and there was a lot of chatter about a pope bobblehead and things like that, and we decided not to pursue something along that lines,” Boyer said. “But the fact that the Pope is an identified White Sox fan, we’re certainly proud of it. We put the mural up where he was sitting in the World Series. It is certainly a point of pride for the Chicago White Sox and White Sox fans, and we’re not going to run from it.”

Because so many people bring him gifts, Pope Leo has more Chicago sports memorabilia than a diehard Grabowski with a man cave. He’s certainly the first Pope to be photographed wearing the same black Sox hat that rappers made famous in the 1990s. Did he know this promotion was going on? How could he not?

“There have certainly been people that have talked to him that claim that he’s following everything that’s going on with the White Sox,” Boyer said. “Pope Leo, if you’re watching, I hope he knows about it. Obviously we want this to be something that’s very respectful to him and connect him with some of his roots.”

The superfans of Section 108 donned their hats during the game. (Jon Greenberg / The Athletic)

Former White Sox pitcher Donn “The Pope” Pall was a special guest Tuesday night, and Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield who went viral for her first pitch in 2018, made a return appearance. Father Tom Hurley and Pat McGann, comedian and White Sox fan, led a blessing after the fifth inning. The team raised money for the Midwest Augustinians, which was Prevost’s order in Chicago.

So what would Pope Leo think about all of this?

“I think he’d enjoy it,” Sobieck said. “I think he would say it’s bringing a lot of people out. He’s all about community and having people share things. You get people together, and you don’t know where it leads. It leads to friendship, depth of conversation and all of that. I think he’d be game.”

If he has been following along from Vatican City, Pope Leo has to be enjoying this White Sox season. Chicago has been in first place (or within a game) in the American League Central since early June, a far cry from the last three seasons, when the Sox were one of the worst teams in baseball. In 2024, of course, they set a modern-day baseball record with 121 losses. Now, the Sox (61-57) could make the playoffs and even get a bye out of the wild-card round.

Chicago’s mascot, Southpaw, also took part in the celebration of Pope Leo on Tuesday night. (Melissa Tamez / Associated Press)

Has Pope Leo pulled some favors?

“I’ve been asked that question quite a bit, is there any sort of divine intervention going on with this team this year, and I just said we accept,” Boyer said.

While the Sox took an early four-run lead, any blessings from above were washed away by a bullpen meltdown in the eighth inning. The White Sox lost to the Reds, 5-4, in 10 innings. Even a Pope’s goodwill can only go so far. In this case, perhaps, the Sox could’ve used the spirit and the right arm of the other Pope, Pall, a reliever who had a 3.45 ERA in six years with Chicago.