EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The Cowboys' 2025 season came to a close on Sunday with a 34-17 loss to the New York Giants, breaking a nine-game winning streak against their NFC East rivals.
Nine was also the number of losses the Cowboys finished the season with, closing with a 7-9-1 record in Brian Schottenheimer's first year as the head coach. That was not what Schottenheimer expected in his first season at the helm, and now the work begins to right those wrongs.
"I'm disappointed, yeah, of course. Absolutely," Schottenheimer said. "The question is why. We need to look and figure out why. I did not think that we would be 7-9-1. I didn't think that we wouldn't be in the playoffs. I expected to be in the playoffs and competing for the Super Bowl."
"We did not do that. That starts with me. And I understand that. But I can promise you this: We're gonna get to the bottom of it. We're gonna work our asses off to figure it out. We're gonna adjust and make changes that we need to do to help us get there."
It's the first time since 2002 that the Cowboys have had back-to-back losing seasons. As QB Dak Prescott closed out year 10 of his career, the trend of coming up short of the team's goal of winning a Super Bowl is getting old.
"It's frustrating. Tired of it, I've got to deal with it," Prescott said. "Sure, tired, but it's up to me to control. And that's why I said this year was as frustrating as anything… I take accountability, don't get me wrong, in so many ways, the leader I am, I'm frustrated, always trying to figure out what I could've done better… I do still put some of it on myself, but unfortunately we just didn't get it done."
While Prescott was "selfishly pissed" that his 14-game win streak as a starter over the Giants came to a close on Sunday, but the more frustrating component was Prescott playing at a high level and starting in all 17 games, and yet still not being able to reach the postseason for the first time in his career when he's been fully healthy and on the field.
"One of the first seasons, if not the first of my career where I can't directly correlate my play to the wins, the loss, or the end of the season or overall success of the season," Prescott said. "So that makes it frustrating."
In the locker room, Schottenheimer's praised his players for coming to work and putting forth effort in all 17 games regardless of circumstances, something he took pride in.
"'I'm proud of you guys,'" Schottenheimer told his players. "Disappointed in the way the season turned out, we clearly didn't win enough games, but every week they put it on the line, and I'm proud of those guys."
Now, the offseason work begins. The Cowboys will hold exit meetings for players on Monday and Tuesday, with the coaching staff to follow on Wednesday and Thursday. Schottenheimer doesn't plan on letting any issues slip through the cracks.
"We'll go back and we'll look at everything with a fine-tooth comb, if you will," Schottenheimer said. "We'll break it down into all the different area that you need to in terms of offense, defense, special teams, running game, situational football, third down, red zone, all that stuff…"
"When I say everything evaluated, everything will be evaluated. Coaches, players, personnel, situational, all that stuff. I feel great about the young men in that locker room and where we can take this thing."
The post season work, or after action reports as Schottenheimer typically refers to them, is a process that the first-time head coach has always looked forward to following a season because it identifies ways the team can improve.
"I'm excited because when we work as hard as we're gonna work, we're going to find answers. We're going to find solutions, we're going to find things that gets us where we need to get going." Schottenheimer said.
Heading into Week 18, both Schottenheimer and Prescott said that momentum could be gained heading into 2026 with a win over New York and finishing without a losing record. Instead, they're below .500, but Schottenheimer sees it as motivation.
"Anytime you come up short of goals, there's motivation," I think these guys are hungry, we have the right type of guys. There's no question about that. We did some good things this year, we just got to figure out the things that we need to improve and address those issues."
As for Prescott, he heads into year 11 of his career in Dallas as the starting quarterback and will be 33 years old next season. What does he see lying ahead of him?
"Greatness," Prescott said. "I'm gonna work every day and bust my ass in the gym and the way that I take care of my body, throwing on the field, doing everything I can. I don't expect anything different than in years past to be better next year than I was this year. And I think just over my career, the track record somewhat proves that."
"So for me, it's just about continuing to work. I don't know if there are many that work as hard as me, or as intentional as me. I pride myself in that, and I look forward to getting back to that here in about a week. I control what I can control, and I worry about the present. The future will take care of itself."
