The Dallas Cowboys have one last game to get to on Sunday afternoon, but a thorough evaluation process will take place as soon as the team returns to Frisco on Monday morning.
A large part of that process will be evaluating how to improve defensively after a season that was derailed by defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ group that sits at the bottom of the NFL in most defensive metrics and statistics. However, the buck doesn’t stop with Eberflus, according to owner Jerry Jones. At the end of the day, there could be a reality where it doesn’t even include him.
“I can make the case that we haven’t had a satisfactory defense for five or six years,” Jones said. “[It’s] everything. I think you can look back relative to decisions we made three years ago, five years ago and look at why we made some of the decisions we made on coaches. What did we expect from them relative to what we’re doing with our personnel?”
“That’s why it’s inaccurate to put this on the evaluation of Eberflus. It really is. I don’t want it to sound like it’s as simple as evaluating Eberflus. It’s much broader than that.”
The Cowboys are heading into a pivotal offseason after putting together one of the league’s best offenses. Jones agrees with that notion. Even after a calendar year that has seen the team trade away Micah Parsons and trade for George Pickens and Quinnen Williams, Jones could be looking at similar sizable moves.
“I think we can do some things to maybe make as dramatic a difference as we have could in a long time,” he said. “You can take that either way you want to do it. You can take it because you’re as dissatisfied as you’ve been in a long time. You can say do you really want to evaluate. The good news about this is in many ways, it’s the same motions that you’re evaluating on our staff and how we play defense.”
Jones pointed to even when things were going better defensively, notably under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn from 2021 to 2023, that they still had issues stopping the run. Decisions that were made then play into the evaluation as much as decisions they make now.
“We need to look at the decisions we’ve made on defense over the last several years,” he said. “We need to approach some things differently. That’s the only way you can address this out of internal things we’re looking at.”
How long the process will take wasn’t exactly determined by Jones, but he did indicate that they will have to move quickly based on the timeline of dominoes falling around the league.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
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.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
Dec. 29 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., NBC
Jan. 1 vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV
Jan. 3 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV
Jan. 6 at Sacramento, 10 p.m., NBC, KFAA, MavsTV
Jan. 8 at Utah, 8 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV
Dec. 29 vs. Jackson State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Jan. 3 vs. Baylor, 1 p.m., TNT
Jan. 6 at Kansas, 8 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Jan. 10 vs. Arizona, 3 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Jan. 14 at BYU, 10 p.m., ESPN2
Dec. 31 at BYU, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Jan. 3 at Utah, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Jan. 7 vs. Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+
Jan. 11 vs. Arizona State, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Jan. 14 at West Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Dec. 27 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m., Victory+
Dec. 31 vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m., Victory+
Jan. 1 at Chicago, 7:30 p.m., Victory+
Jan. 4 vs. Montreal, 1 p.m., Victory+
Jan. 6 at Carolina, 6 p.m., Victory+
Alamo Bowl
TCU 30, USC 27 (OT)
New Mexico Bowl
North Texas 49, San Diego State 47
Jan. 4 at N.Y. Giants, noon, Fox
End of season
May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250
May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340
May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400
This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
Through seven weeks of the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense was — hold on. I’ve used putrid. I’ve used awful. I’ve used demoralizing.
Google: synonym for bad. Results: Deficient. Inadequate. Substandard. Dreadful.
Whatever negative word you could possibly use, it probably fits. The unit entered Week 7 dead-last in yards allowed per game (401.6) and third-to-last in points allowed per game (29.4), and has been the cause of multiple losses through the first third of the season.
Heading into a divisional matchup against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, it was clear that there would be a different approach. Jerry Jones promised more man coverage. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus spoke about more pressure and playing more to the strengths of his personnel in place. Then, it was all backed up.
Against man coverage on Sunday, Commanders quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota were 5-for-15 for 67 yards. Against zone coverage, they were 11-for-17 for 152 yards and one interception. It was the most passing attempts against man coverage that a Cowboys defense has had all season.
“We were able to play fast out there,” cornerback DaRon Bland said. “We showed who we are out there. It was a great day. As a cover guy, I like to be playing man.”
The changes weren’t just made in the back end. Despite linebacker Jack Sanborn returning from a concussion this week, rookie Shemar James kept the starting job over him and turned in the best performance of his young career with a strip sack of Daniels to go along with seven tackles.
“It means a lot,” James said. “Because it means the coaches trust you to keep you in there and allow you to do your thing. That’s what I’ve been trying to do since I’ve been here, just earn the coaches’ trust, show them I can play and show them I can be for all 11.”
Up front, the pressure was dialed up even more as well. On the 40 dropbacks for the Commanders, the Cowboys sent a blitz on 17 of them. They were able to get home for four sacks, including the first for rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku.
“Amen,” Ezeiruaku said. “First of many. … I finally got that first one, and the guys were hyping me up. I’m happy and grateful that today was the day I got one.”
The changes were seen on all three levels. From more man coverage to personnel to more pressure, Eberflus’ adjustments on the defensive side of the ball were felt Sunday, and it allowed the Cowboys to play their most complementary game of the season.
But can it last?
“There’s definitely things that we got to clean up,” defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said. “We’re always chasing the perfect game, but this is definitely something to build off of.”
“Our main thing is being consistent,” cornerback Trikweze Bridges. “We’re going to keep going with that, and just be consistent.”
That’s the key to all of this: consistency. If the Cowboys can achieve that elusive word, then maybe we’ll have to start Googling synonyms for that one as well.
Through seven weeks, we know what the offense is and what it can be. But what is the defense? Was Sunday a mere anomaly, or is it the sign of what’s to come under these new changes?
If it’s an outlier, then this team is right back to losing against teams it shouldn’t be.
But if it’s the latter, there’s no reason to not believe that the Cowboys are poised to go on a run. With an upcoming slate of games that will see them take on the up-and-down Broncos next week before a two-game stretch against the lowly Cardinals and Raiders, a consistent defense during that stretch can very easily create a four-game winning streak.
If it does, remember the Sunday afternoon against the Commanders. It just may end up being the “get-right” game.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
Instead, the worst statistical defensive unit in the NFL saw Dowdle offer up 239 total yards to help power the below-average Panthers offense (21st in the NFL entering the game) to a 30-27 win behind 410 total yards of production.
It’s the same story, just in a different week, for the Cowboys’ defense. Dowdle knew what the outlook was when he made his comments a week ago about what the Cowboys should expect. He knew he’d have an opportunity to shine. And that he did.
“They wasn’t buckled up,” Dowdle rightfully said postgame.
Six games in, it’s safe to say that the Cowboys’ defense is a disaster. Through the air, the Cowboys have given up the most passing yards and touchdowns of any team in the league.
And even though acquiring defensive tackle Kenny Clark was supposed to drastically improve the run defense, the unit now ranks 31st in the league (out of 32) in rushing yards allowed after Dowdle’s explosion Sunday. They’re allowing the most third down conversions per game, the most overall first downs and the most 40-plus yard plays of any team in the league. Believe it or not, that list could actually go on.
“We knew they were a physical football team,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the game. “We weren’t surprised by that, but they were able to run it, and we weren’t. And this is a game where you got to win the line of scrimmage, and we didn’t win the line of scrimmage today. I told the team that. It’s disappointing.
“It’s going to jump off the film at us, the things that we didn’t do well. We’ll get them fixed.”
Nothing against Schottenheimer — it isn’t his side of the ball to have to call and manage during the game, to be fair — but the same “we’ll get it fixed” phrase has been uttered about this defense since the Russell Wilson Extravaganza in Week 2. At this point, it’s safe to assume that it can’t get fixed.
If a former player calling the unit out, and then doubling down during the week, can’t get this defense to show up, it’s tough to see how anything can.
Although, in a way, that does prove one point that’s worth giving the defense credit for. Schottenheimer has said throughout the season and after this game that he doesn’t see the defensive issues as an effort problem, and that’s not wrong. Players are moving around, not pointing fingers at others and are taking accountability.
At this point, it’s simply that the personnel and the scheme from defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is not anywhere close to good enough. The Cowboys’ defense wanted to respond to Dowdle today. They just couldn’t.
“Matt’s trying,” Schottenheimer said. “Players are trying. It’s not a lack of effort. This is not that. We have to be able to play more complementary defense, and early in the season we were getting hurt throwing the football. This game, we got hurt running the football. We were not surprised.”
The defense has tried to make changes as well. Cornerback Kaiir Elam hasn’t started the past two games after a rough start to the year, and cornerback Trevon Diggs was benched to start a game earlier in the season. Linebackers Marist Liufau and Shemar James have consumed the snaps that once belonged to Damone Clark. By way of injury, Juanyeh Thomas has seen time at safety for Malik Hooker. Still, the same issues have occurred.
Again, it’s all just not good enough. For a Cowboys season that should have a lot of optimism around a No. 1 offense, it has instead been tempered to having expectations of a middle-of-the-road team failing to reach its full potential because of the continued defensive problems.
Sunday’s performance punctuated what we’ve all known for weeks about the Cowboys’ defense. Dowdle knew it, too, and called it out publicly.
Then, he fittingly put the unit to shame on Sunday afternoon — publicly.
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 6:36 PM.
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.