Tommy Yarrish

FRISCO, TexasWith the offseason program in the rear view mirror, training camp is the last thing standing in front of the Cowboys before the 2025 season begins.

The team will head to Oxnard in mid-July before starting the preseason with three games to ramp up for their NFL opening night matchup against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

It's been speculated that during training camp, the Cowboys will once again face the Los Angeles Rams in a practice setting before their first preseason game against them. If that is in fact the case, it'll mark back to back years of the same format for Dallas to open the preseason.

August is the first month of the 5-Month Forecast series, where we look ahead to each month of the 2025 season and examine the storylines and opponents that come with each game the Cowboys will play in. Let's get started with the preseason:

Aug. 9 at Los Angeles Rams

To start off the preseason, the Cowboys will make the short trip up from Oxnard to Inglewood and play the Los Angeles Rams. It'll be the first time that Brian Schottenheimer has taken an NFL field as a head coach and will be an early look at how he wants to build his offense.

It'll also be the first time in a game setting that players in positional competition battles get a chance to separate themselves as the team begins to mull over roster decisions to trim the roster down to 53 players. Defensive tackle, cornerback and running back are positions with a lot of question marks, and the opener against the Rams provides an opportunity to secure a spot.

Aug. 16 vs. Baltimore Ravens

In a game that will more than likely feature a heavy dosage of backup quarterback play, the Cowboys get to see their backups of old and new go head-to-head as Cooper Rush makes his return to AT&T Stadium. Rush, Dallas' longtime backup to Dak Prescott, signed with the Ravens in free agency this offseason and projects to be the backup to Lamar Jackson.

On the other side, it'll be Joe Milton and Will Grier likely continuing to battle it out for the QB2 spot, along with other positional job battles scattered across the board. Who can build on a good performance from the first week of the preseason and carry it on?

Aug. 22 vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 3 of the preseason is where things can start to get interesting. What is Brian Schottenheimer's philosophy on playing his starters? Will he want to give them some run in Week 3 for a series or two? It hasn't been common in the past, but who knows what Schottenheimer wants to see on the field in his first game as head coach at AT&T Stadium.

With Dak Prescott coming off another season ending injury last season, could a series in the preseason help him ramp up for Week 1? Or would the Cowboys rather play it safe and let him make his return at the start of the regular season? History tells us the latter is more likely, as Prescott hasn't playing in a preseason game since 2019. That said, this is where Schottenheimer's philosophy will come into play.