Cowboys fell short of expectations in 2025, and Jerry Jones knows he’s at fault

When you diagnose the defensive issues that the 2025 Dallas Cowboys had as they head into a season finale against the New York Giants at noon Sunday that is largely meaningless, you can point to a lot of things.

For one, the lack of production. My goodness, how could it get any worse?

The unit enters Week 18 dead-last in the league in points allowed per game (29.8) and 30th in yards allowed per game (376.8). And despite the offense being the complete opposite — first in yards per game (398.6) and fourth in points per game (28.4) — the Cowboys will have to watch the playoffs from their couches next week.

The Cowboys didn’t meet owner Jerry Jones’ expectations this season, and he has taken responsibility for the team’s failure.

“We will get better on defense,” he said. “I promise you that.”

What went wrong on that side of the ball? And how do Jones and the Cowboys get it fixed for 2026?

Pass rush promises unfulfilled

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ scheme became a big talking point throughout the season, and rightfully so. The Cowboys are in the bottom half of blitz rate despite preseason promises that pressure could be generated without the traded Micah Parsons through just that: the scheme.

“We felt like because of our depth on the edge, as well as the ability to scheme pressure, that we could make up for Micah,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said.

Instead, the Cowboys head into the final week of the season with just 31 sacks, which ranks 25th in the NFL.

With only one defensive end under contract going into 2026 — rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku — you can expect a complete overhaul of the position group. Veteran Jadeveon Clowney could find his way back next season, but the Cowboys’ confidence that they once had in the preseason in getting to the quarterback has vanished.

The glaring example of Dallas’ pass rush woes came against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 21. Against a beaten-up offensive line that had given up at least one sack in every game this season, the Cowboys could not bring quarterback Justin Herbert down one time in the 34-17 loss.

“I was disappointed — very disappointed,” Jerry Jones said after the game. “We came in really planning to get pressure and did not … That was a shortcoming of us today. We couldn’t get pressure.”

Run defense still sits below league average

But even in the context of the Parsons trade, the Cowboys expected to be better in defending the run. And to their credit, it has gotten better, but it’s still a long ways from being corrected.

The team sits tied for 20th in rushing yards allowed (1,972) and 27th in yards per carry allowed (4.7) entering the final week of the year despite a trio of defensive tackles in Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa that should have that unit playing closer to the top 10 in both categories.

“We need to stop the run,” Jones said after trading Parsons. “And we haven’t been able to stop the run in key times for several years. And when you have the kind of extraordinary pass rush that Micah had, then the way to mitigate that pass rush is to run at you.”

Well, the Cowboys did solve one problem. It’s not as easy to run on them, yes. But now, it’s a whole lot easier to pass on them.

High expectations in the secondary

Jerry Jones has taken a lot of accountability in recent weeks for the defense’s shortcomings. Specifically, he thought the secondary would have better production than it’s had. Instead, it will need its own overhaul in the offseason to offer optimism in 2026.

“We had high expectations in our secondary,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “Make no mistake about it, everybody had their finger in what we did out there defensively. Everybody. It’s not just a one-man blame at all.”

But coming into the season, why was there confidence to begin with? The team knew Trevon Diggs’ best days were most likely behind him, rookie Shavon Revel Jr. wasn’t going to be ready at a level you needed him to be this season, and the zone-heavy scheme from Eberflus is the direct opposite of what all the defensive backs have operated under the past four seasons in Dallas.

Being ranked 32 out of 32 in pass defense is hard to excuse. The problems not only sit with the defensive coaching staff and the players in the locker room, but they also sit just as heavy in the owners’ box every Sunday.

Where does Jerry go now?

Whatever Jerry Jones decides to do to rectify these issues, he’s making it sound like it’s going to be quick and swift.

“Therein lies what you have to sit down and figure out,” Jones said. “What, if anything, you want to change. We’ll get to that pronto. Everybody involved in this thing, I’m sure, has been thinking ahead about how to adjust out of our results this year.”

The thinking process will tie in a lot of factors, but it starts with the future of Eberflus. A hire that the front office sought out and brought in, it’s now up to those same decision-makers to pull the plug on his time in Dallas after one season. It hasn’t worked.

“We all underachieved, really,” Jones said. “And the fact we’re not in the playoffs says that for you … We’ve got to have a more solid defense. That’s disappointing this year. We will get better on defense. I promise you that.”

Now, will that promise be followed through? Or will it be added to the list of the unfulfilled expectations that Jones has laid out in the past year — and for the last three decades of the team’s playoff success drought.

One of the most crucial offseasons in the history of Jones’ 37-year tenure as owner will answer just that.

This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM.