FRISCO, Texas — It's statistically one of the worst defenses in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, so it stands to reason coaches and players alike are oscillating between frustration and anger. Eight games into the 2025 season, sitting at 3-4-1 and approaching the point of no return if they can't figure out a way to consistently stop opposing offenses, there's no shortage of pressure for that side of the ball to, at minimum, be serviceable.
The tone of each defensive player, however, remains one of determination, and that includes Jadeveon Clowney, now several games in after joining the team via free agency in September.
He's been around the NFL block a few times, and seen his fair share of rosters — trying to figure out what's holding the Cowboys' defense back heading into the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
"I tell the guys all the time, man, I've played on seven teams — it's my seventh year," said Clowney. "There's a lot of talent on his roster for us to not be winning consistently. We always have to come back and figure out what's going on. We've got a lot of talent here."
The problems on that side of the ball are many, though.
"I just believe that we should be competing on a higher level than we are now," he added. "Not saying compete, but we should be winning on a lot higher level than we have, but we just got to continue to play complementary football. We've got one of the best offenses in the national football league. Defense just has got to pick it up, and I think if we can get our side going like we need to, it could be a great team and try to head into the playoffs."
Should the Cowboys fall to the Cardinals at home on Monday Night Football, they'll crawl into their bye week on a two-game losing streak and two games below .500 with only eight games remaining on their regular season schedule, and it's a schedule that doesn't exactly get any easier as the weeks roll along.
For veterans like Clowney and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, the understanding is that the fix(es) within the unit need to happen now, and not later.
"We just gotta keep pushing each other and holding each other accountable," Clark said. " … You've got to look in the mirror and just find something to get better at. That's the overall thing with that. … We all have to get better as a defense."
