(Editor’s note: The content provided is based on opinions and/or perspective of the DallasCowboys.com editorial staff and not the Cowboys football staff or organization.)
FRISCO, Texas — How anyone feels is irrelevant to the facts of any given situation. As the Dallas Cowboys approach the finality of their 2025 season, they’re faced with a sobering dose of reality, in that they’re no closer to competing for a championship than they were one year ago. It’s a disappointing and sobering thought, but the facts are the facts, and the sooner they accept that — the facts — the sooner they’ll get back to where they were 30 years ago.
This isn’t to say there wasn’t progress made this year, because there was, and no amount of anyone’s emotional rant on social media or in their radio segment is going to change that fact, so let’s start with the positives here; and that includes my belief that Brian Schottenheimer has proven himself to be the right hire as head coach.
No, he isn’t perfect and, yes, there’s room for growth, but I’ll get to that soon.
Let’s begin with what was probably the biggest “WTF” moment I’ve had in my more recent years of covering this team: the decision to trade Micah Parsons. I was floored, flabbergasted, befuddled and perplexed, to be honest, but that’s the NFL, folks: expect the unexpected.
Buttttt … I can also readily admit they used the capital in a way I also wouldn’t have guessed. It was a flip impressive enough to qualify for the floor exercise in the Olympics, to be honest.
In the end, the Cowboys turned Parsons into Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle still in his prime (as it turns out), Quinnen Williams, now a four-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro and an additional first-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, and that fact helps set them up for 2026.
That’s pretty damn impressive by any means of measurement that matters, but it also exposed the fact their pass rush was not as good, or even serviceable, as they thought it would be in the absence of both Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence — the latter leaving in free agency and, by the way, is once again a Pro Bowler (but, this time, it’s for the Seattle Seahawks) for his former Cowboys’ defensive line coach turned Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, Aden Durde.
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Fact is, the lone consistent bright spot at defensive end was Jadeveon Clowney, an NFL mercenary signed on Sept. 14, who needed time to ramp up before ultimately leading the entire team in sacks with fewer games played and with fewer starts overall.
Seriously, take a look at this, and also consider how defensive tackles Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Quinnen Williams — who played in only six games through Week 17 — are all top-7 on the team in that category, a fact that’s telling of both their ability and the inability in 2025 of those playing on the outside, save for Clowney and Houston, and grace rightfully given to Donovan Ezeiruaku, because he’s a rookie and at least showed promise.
2025 Cowboys’ Leaders in Sacks (through Week 17)
- Jadeveon Clowney – 5.5 sacks (12 games, 5 starts)
- James Houston – 5.5 sacks (16 games, 0 starts)
- Dante Fowler – 3 sacks (16 games, 11 starts)
- Donovan Ezeiruaku – 2 sacks (16 games, 8 starts)
- Sam Williams – 1 sack (16 games, 5 starts)
And things only get worse from there for the defense, a group that can’t figure itself out at linebacker, to the point there’s still coaching confusion regarding rotations as late as Week 16 and beyond, a fact that was confessed, and the secondary has been in shambles all season due to a mix of miscommunication on the field as players try to figure out their responsibilities in real time, a rash of injuries, questionable schematic choices versus available personnel, so forth and so on.
“None of us have coached well enough on defense at times this year.” – Brian Schottenheimer
It’s one (not all, but one) reason for the divorce from Trevon Diggs, and his departure highlights the concern for the durability of DaRon Bland’s foot, and creates a situation wherein Caelen Carson has to figure out why the coaching staff shelved him after a stellar outing against the Las Vegas Raiders, if rookie cornerback Shavon Revel can return to top form in the offseason program to come, and how to attack the overall dire straits at the position in free agency and/or the NFL draft.
And I do agree with owner and general manager Jerry Jones on at least this singular fact: the failings of the defense are on Matt Eberflus, absolutely, but also several others that conversations will focus on, though those are to-be-determined at the moment.
All in all, not great, Bob.
Hot and Cold
Be not mistaken, though, because the offense isn’t absolved of blame for the overall failings of the Cowboys this season.
The unit was once consistently high-powered and the reason Dallas was ever in some of the games it otherwise shouldn’t have been, but a recent rash slow starts and fast finishes that fell just short of being enough being traded for fast starts with slow finishes that allowed teams to mount comebacks (as the Washington Commanders nearly did on Christmas) is a problem that needs to be fixed in 2026 — fact.
“I didn’t call a perfect season.” – Schottenheimer
Praise the fact the Cowboys fielded a record-setting 4,000-yard passer in Dak Prescott, a 1,000-yard rusher in Javonte Williams (especially following the RB failings of 2024), and not one, but two 1,000-yard receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, also pushing Pickens to his first-ever Pro Bowl nod in the process.
Criticize the fact the offense became inconsistent in the second half of the season, and largely due to problems across the offensive line. Tyler Guyton shows great promise, but his availability has become an Achilles heel to his development, his latest stint on injured reserve leading the Cowboys to move All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith to left tackle over swing tackle Nate Thomas and young upstart Hakeem Adeniji; and that’s just one example of what went wrong with the O-line in 2025.
Cooper Beebe missed time with injury. Terence Steele had a mixed bag of both excellence (see his film versus the Raiders, Eagles and Chiefs) and his fair share of struggles. Tyler Booker was exceptional, the rookie making more than good on his first-round pick status, but even he was bitten by the injury bug at least once, missing three games because of it.
T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman have proven more than capable, but there’s not much depth to speak of outside of those two gamers, and even they had some reps they’d like back.
Culture Shock
A culture of accountability has been tested on more than one occasion in Brian Schottenheimer’s inaugural season as head coach of the Cowboys, and he’s passed several of those exams with flying colors, a fact few can rightfully deny.
Micah Parsons was traded, and Trevon Diggs released, proving no one is bigger than the program. Mazi Smith was traded and Kaiir Elam was released, proving neither draft status nor acquisition via trade would be enough to save a player from the proverbial guillotine. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were benched to start a game because they missed curfew, proving no one was above the law.
“Every player is a part of the team.” – Schottenheimer
Jaydon Blue hasn’t seen the field since Moses parted the Red Sea, and not until Schottenheimer is satisfied the dynamic rookie running back can practice at a high level every single time, and not simply sometimes; and Ryan Flournoy was awarded a breakout opportunity that pushed Jalen Tolbert, a former third-round pick, to the inactives list, frequently.
That doesn’t mean Schottenheimer passed every test of accountability though, or at least not in my humble opinion.
Not becoming extremely involved in the defensive overwatch earlier in the season is the first thing that comes to mind. Others include experiments like Jack Sanborn and the aforementioned confusion involving Logan Wilson’s playing time that created some progress-stoppage at the position, not to mention the very odd regression of Marist Liufau over his very strong rookie season in 2024, something I don’t attribute to a completely-healthy Liufau having somehow forgotten how to play defense.
I spy some development issues across the board, defensively.
And the data says that’s a fact, not a feeling.
Offensively, opting to get away from the run in the red zone and other critical moments felt strange and unnecessary when looking at the resurgence of Javonte Williams, who already has as many rushing touchdowns in 16 games (11) than he had with the Broncos through four seasons in Denver.
I get it, sometimes Schotteheimer couldn’t trust the offensive line (as noted above) to get any push, but that wasn’t always the case, so that reasoning only works some of the time — not all of it.
Even Less Time for a ‘Bad Time’
It was a wild ride in 2025 for the Cowboys, from the blockbuster trades to acquire George Pickens, Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams to shipping away Micah Parsons and waving goodbye to Trevon Diggs, falling flat defensively for much of the year before mounting a three-game win streak in 11 days before the Red Sea collapsed back onto them to force Dallas into their 2026 planning well ahead of schedule.
Prescott said he promises the Cowboys won’t be back in this same position one year from today, but the fact remains it’ll take more than a great season from him to follow through on that promise.The next several months and moves by the organization will either set the stage to prove him right, or to prove him wrong and, as the calendar flips to 2026, and the Super Bowl drought stretches to more than three decades, that’s just a fact of football life in Dallas.