Cowboys Pursue Mediocrity
Football season is in full effect as we are already one-third of the way through this season! The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in a rather peculiar spot this season, as somehow they are ranked the #1 offense in the NFL, but also have the worst defense! Cowboys fans knew the struggles they would face on defense coming into this season, but no one could have expected it to be this bad. The only glimmer of hope the Cowboys Nation can look at is their MVP candidate quarterback, Dak Prescott. Prescott has put up impressive numbers early on this season and continues to do so week in and week out. Regardless of his impressive numbers, the Cowboys find themselves at the bottom tier of the NFL. The question becomes, how did this happen to America’s Team?
After a disastrous 7-10 season in 2024, the Cowboys looked to make some drastic changes this offseason. One of those was firing former Head Coach Mike McCarthy, and promoting former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the Head Coach position. Schottenheimer’s priority goal was to create a competitive atmosphere that had been lacking in Dallas. Schottenheimer seemed to have accomplished this goal amongst his players, yet the team has had limited success on the field.
In addition to the Schottenheimer hiring, the Dallas Cowboys brought in some additional offensive weapons, such as wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back Javonte Williams from the Denver Broncos, and drafted offensive lineman Tyler Booker from Alabama. With all these additions, the Cowboys were seen in the spotlight once again, but the biggest headline for Dallas was trading All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Parsons had been the heart and soul of the Cowboys’ defense for the past four years. When it was time to pay the young star, the two sides could not close on a deal. Parsons and Dallas parted ways, and the Cowboys’ defense has been struggling ever since. Dallas’ defense has been ranked at the bottom of every tier defensively, being unable to stop the run or pass. It seems that the solution to this defense now plays for Green Bay.
Although the reasoning behind Dallas’ poor defense is not entirely because of Parsons’ departure. Dallas’ defensive roster has seen a high number of injuries and has sidelined multiple starters, including cornerback Trevon Diggs, linebacker Demarion Overshown and safety Malik Hooker. We have seen mostly backups or starters that have lingering injuries, once again the injury bug has found its way to Dallas.
On the opposite side of the ball we find that Dallas’ offense is ranked one of the top units in the league, led by Dak Prescott. He has found his rhythm in spreading the ball to players such as wide receivers Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens. Star tight end Jake Ferguson, and starting running back Javonte Williams have been impressive to start the season. Prescott and this offense have had to be nearly perfect so far in order for this team to compete. Every single one of their games has been high scoring and has had to come down to Prescott and his ability to win.
Although fans love to scream solutions to their struggles on social media, the answers are much more complicated than most like to admit. The Cowboys have a completely new coaching staff, as well as almost an entirely new defense. Losing several star players to free agency and retirement, Dallas is looking to be competitive while in a rebuilding phase.
Cowboys Nation is hoping that the front office can either trade for a star defensive player to ignite this team or use the draft picks that they acquired from Green Bay for Parsons to build around young talent coming into the league.
It seems that unless a major change happens suddenly for this Cowboys team, another year has been lost in pursuing a sixth Super Bowl Championship. Cowboys Nation needs to buckle up for a rollercoaster of a season where we can see this team either compete for the playoffs or fall into a top ten draft pick. Regardless it might be safe to say that this is not the year for the Dallas Cowboys.