After a week of joint practices in Oxnard, California, the Dallas Cowboys and L.A. Rams will get to do it for real as the two teams set off on their respective preseason schedules on Saturday.
The shared practice fields over the last several days aren’t the end of the similarities at play here, either, as both teams navigate August with drama surrounding a star player — not that it affects the NFL odds in this spot.
In Los Angeles, the Rams are headed toward starting the season without quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has continued to deal with a complex back injury. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are in the midst of their latest contract drama, with Micah Parsons’ trade demand coming on the heels of prolonged negotiations.
With two shining NFL franchises meeting this Saturday in Los Angeles, check out our Dallas Cowboys vs. L.A. Rams predictions, including our NFL expert picks and American football odds, with kickoff for August 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Matchup Dallas Cowboys vs L.A. Rams Overview
Teams: Dallas Cowboys vs. L.A. Rams
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium
Win Probabilities
The NFL win probabilities have been generated using insights from recent NFL games in combination with expert NFL picks and predictions. The Dallas Cowboys are looking to rebound from a terrible 2024 season and have been given a chance to win this NFL game. Meanwhile, the L.A. Rams have maintained their typical consistency in the Sean McVay era, and have a chance according to the NFL win probabilities.
Projected Final Score
The projected final score anticipates a close game in La La Land, but for the Dallas Cowboys to prevail with a final score of Dallas Cowboys 27-17 L.A. Rams.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
Over the last several seasons, as joint practices have become increasingly commonplace, they serve as a tense runway toward a genuinely exciting conclusion.
Football is, by nature, a physical and tense sport, and even in joint practices, emotions tend to run high. Fights break out, it gets personal, and then at the end of the week, they can finally hit one another in real, albeit preseason, football action.
In that sense, the clash in Hollywood between the Cowboys and Rams is one of the highlights of this weekend. Despite these joint practices between the teams, which are now an annual function, there isn’t a friendliness to the affair. It’ll be physical, competitive football.
And, rounding out the reason for excitement, are the quarterbacks who will take center stage. There’s reason for intrigue on both sides, and it sets up a great start to the preseason.
Why the Dallas Cowboys Can Cover
Over the last couple of seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have made a habit of rolling out fascinating quarterbacks behind Dak Prescott in the preseason. After last year’s Trey Lance experiment, there’s perhaps an even more fascinating prospect to look toward in sophomore Joe Milton.
Milton, a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots last spring, became an object of fascination after last year’s preseason — and only furthered that in his one extended stretch of play during the regular season. With outstanding height, size, and arm talent, Milton is a thrilling watch. In his lone regular season appearance in 2024, he completed 76% of his passes for 241 yards and a touchdown — without turning the ball over.
For curious reasons, New England would trade him to the Cowboys ahead of this year’s draft for what was effectively a day three trade up. After making the move to bring him in, the Cowboys will be eager to turn the preseason keys over to him and see what they have behind Prescott.
And, excitingly for viewers, Milton is exactly the kind of physical freak at quarterback that can thrill against preseason defenses. Even better, he will have a cast of weapons around him. In rookie tailbacks Phil Mafah and Jaydon Blue, the Cowboys have a pair of runners they’re excited about — and will be eager to showcase.
Similarly, young wideouts like Jonathan Mingo, Ryan Flournoy, and Jalen Brooks will see a ton of snaps ahead of locked in Week 1 starters Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens. With a ready to roll preseason offense, the Cowboys will be able to keep pace with anyone this August.
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Why the L.A. Rams Can Cover
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is in a tough spot as the preseason begins.
On the one hand, McVay famously disregards preseason play to a drastic degree, sometimes holding out key starters altogether in August — a part of why these joint practices have become so commonplace.
On the other hand, with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford’s status for Week 1 looking increasingly in doubt, McVay needs to make sure backup Jimmy Garoppolo is ready to play if needed.
However, the notion of playing Garoppolo has inherent risks in its own right. The veteran of 64 starts has, over his last five seasons as a full-time starter in San Francisco, missed 13, zero, 10, two, and five games through injury. There are legitimate concerns about his body’s ability to hold up — is that something McVay can risk behind a preseason offensive line?
The likeliest outcome here is that McVay sticks to his beliefs and limits starters’ playtime during the preseason — starting on Saturday. Instead, he’ll be confident that Garoppolo’s time in both his own and Kyle Shanahan’s offense will help the veteran be ready, and use practice reps to get him as game-ready as possible.
As a result, this L.A. offense will be blunted considerably. After averaging 13.6 points per game last August and 17.0 in 2023, expect another vanilla preseason from the Rams, making their route to covering against Dallas considerably more difficult.
How to Make Dallas Cowboys vs. L.A. Rams Picks
Ready to make picks on the Dallas Cowboys vs. L.A. Rams matchup on Saturday, August 9? Make sure to head over to Sportzino, where you can find every NFL game on the slate this weekend, and so much more!
